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Edited  by  RICHARD  T. 


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ELY 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


f 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE  TEXT-BOOKS 

OUTLINES  OF  ECONOMICS  . 

By  Richard  T.  Ely,  Pif.D.,  LL.D.  Revised  and 
enlarged  by  the  Author  and  Thomas  S.  Adams, 
PH.t).r>MAX \0.  , Lorenz,  Ph.D,,  ^ Allyn  A. 
Young,  Ph.D.  ' , 

■ f\ 

HISTORY  OF  ECONOMIC  THOUGHT 
By  Lewis  H.  Haney,  Ph.D. 

BUSINESS  ORGANIZATION  AND  COMBINATION 
By  Lewis  H.  Haney. 

PROBLEMS  OF  CHILD  WELFARE 
By  George  B.  Mangoud,  Ph.D. 

SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 

By  Ezra  Thayer  Towne. 

THE  NEW  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 
By  James  T.  Young. 

OUTLINES  OF  SOCIOLOGY 

By  Frank  W.  Blackmar,  Ph.D.,  and  John  Lewis 
Gillin,  Ph.D. 

COMPARATIVE  FREE  GOVERNMENT 
By  Jesse  Macy  and  John  W.  Gannaway. 

AMERICAN  MUNICIPAL  PROGRESS 
By  Charles  Zueblin. 

APPLIED  EUGENICS 

By  PoPENOE  and  Johnson. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


A STUDY  OF  PRESENT-DAY 
SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 


BY 

EZRA  THAYER  TOWNE,  Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  ECONOMICS  AND  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  DAKOTA 


Wefaj  ifltk 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1919 


All  rights  reserved 


COPTBIGHT,  1916, 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.  Published  May,  1916. 


NorSnootJ  i^regss 

J.  S.  Cushing  Co.  — Berwick  & Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


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RICHAED  T.  ELY 

TEACHER  • FRIEND 


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PREFACE 


The  aim  in  this  work  is  not  to  make  original  contributions 
to  the  subjects  discussed,  hut  rather  to  collect  the  available 
material  on  these  subjects  and  arrange  it  in  such  form  that  it 
may  be  used  advantageously  as  a basis  for  study  in  the  class- 
room. The  work  is  intended  primarily  for  beginners  in  the 
field  of  social  studies  — for  those  who  may  desire  a better 
understanding  of  present-day  social  questions.  It  deals  largely 
with  facts  and  with  an  analysis  of  conditions.  Pure  theory 
is  kept  in  the  background  as  much  as  possible  in  the  thought 
that  the  more  abstruse  theoretical  questions  should  be  left  for 
more  advanced  courses.  The  effort  has  been  made  to  present 
the  matter  in  as  clear  and  in  as  impartial  a manner  as  is  pos- 
sible ; also  care  has  been  taken  to  give  the  authority  for  prac- 
tically every  important  statement  of  fact  made.  Through  the 
use  of  the  supplementary  questions  and  the  references  at  the 
end  of  each  chapter,  ample  material  may  be  found  for  a college 
or  normal  school  course  on  this  subject..  It  is  also  hoped  that 
the  references  given  and  topics  suggested  will  be  of  assistance 
to  reading  circles  and  study  clubs  that  may  wish  to  pursue 
such  a course  of  study  as  is  here  presented.  Although  the 
book  deals  mainly  with  the  evils,  or  at  least  the  weaknesses, 
in  our  social  system,  yet  it  is  hoped  that  a spirit  of  optimism 
pervades  the  work  — an  optimism  based  on  the  knowledge 
of  past  achievements  in  social  progress  and  inspiring  us  to 
greater  efforts  in  the  future. 

The  trend  of  education  to-day  is  toward  a better  under- 
standing of  our  own  times.  The  past  century  was  character- 
ized by  great  advance  in  the  physical  sciences  — in  the  control 
of  physical  forces.  The  indications  are  that  the  present  cen- 
tury may  be  characterized  by  great  advance  in  the  social 
sciences  — in  the  control  of  social  forces.  Already  great 
movements  are  under  way.  Much  has  been  accomplished, 

vii 


Vlll 


Preface 


and  certainly  with  a clearer  understanding  of  the  problems 
and  of  the  principles  of  social  control,  much  more  may  be 
accomplished  toward  making  this  a better  world  in  which  to 
live.  Through  this  clearer  understanding,  will  the  individ- 
ual be  brought  to  a fuller  realization  of  his  responsibilities 
of  citizenship,  and  be  the  better  prepared  to  meet  these 
responsibilities. 

This,  then,  has  been  the  aim : to  bring  before  the  students 
of  social  'problems  these  facts  regarding  present-day  condi- 
tions ; to  indicate  certain  weaknesses  in  our  social  order ; to 
show  what  has  already  been  done  and  is  being  done  toward 
the  elimination  of  these  weaknesses ; and  to  impress  upon 
these  students,  through  the  presentation  of  such  facts,  the 
possibilities  of  wise,  sane,  constructive,  social  action. 

I am  under  particular  obligations  to  the  several  authors 
whose  works  I have  quoted  so  freely ; to  the  superintendents 
of  high  schools  and  others  who,  on  the  receipt  of  my  “ Out- 
line’’ some  time  ago,  made  many  helpful  suggestions,  and 
especially  Superintendents  Monroe,  Street,  and  Chalgren,  who 
kindly  read  several  of  the  chapters  in  manuscript ; and  to  the 
members  of  my  seminar  course  in  Social  Problems  — the  Misses 
Aldrich,  Atchison,  Brauer,  Jepson,  Lindbergh,  Sherwood,  and 
Messrs.  Ashton  and  Rossman  of  the  Class  of  1914,  and  particu- 
larly to  Miss  Jepson,  who  assisted  in  the  preparation  of  each 
chapter,  and  the  Misses  Elwell,  Bellows,  Moore,  Phelps,  Eobil- 
liard,  and  Messrs.  Dean,  Putnam,  and  Wingate  of  the  Class  of 
1915  — each  of  whom  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  the  col- 
lecting of  material  on  the  different  subjects  ; to  my  colleagues, 
Dr.  H.  H.  Carter  and  Dr.  H.  J.  Thorstenberg,  who  made  many 
valuable  criticisms  and  suggestions ; and  finally  to  my  wife, 
who  has  been  my  co-worker  in  every  phase  of  this  work  from 
its  first  inception  to  the  reading  of  the  final  proof. 


Northfield,  Minnesota, 
April  11,  1916. 


E.  T.  TOWNE. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  NATURAL  CONDITIONS  ON 
ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

PAGE 


I.  General  Introduction 1 

II.  Configuration  2 

III.  Climate 8 

IV.  Soil 10 

V.  Natural  Resources .11 

VI.  General  Aspects  of  Nature .13 

VII.  Conclusion 14 


CHAPTER  II 
POPULATION 


I. 

Present  Status  . 

18 

II. 

Rate  of  Increase 

19 

HI. 

Density 

20 

IV. 

Urban  .AND  Rural 

21 

V. 

Distribution  by  Natural 

Features . 

22 

VI. 

Center  of  Population 

• 

23 

VII. 

Race  . . . . 

24 

VIII. 

Nativity 

27 

IX. 

Sex  . . . . 

29 

X. 

School  Age  . 

31 

XI. 

Illiteracy  . 

31 

XII. 

Voting  Strength 

33 

XIII. 

Potential  Militia 

33 

XIV. 

Intercensal  Estimates  of 

THE 

Population 

33 

ix 


X 

Contents 

CHAPTER  III 

IMMIGRATIO:^ 

PAGT! 

I. 

History  and  Extent  of  Immigration 

S7 

II. 

Earlier  vmbsus  Present  Immigration 

38 

III. 

Distribution  of  the  Immigrants 

40 

IV. 

Causes  of  Immigration 

41 

V. 

Effects  of  Immigration  ..... 

44 

VI. 

Restrictions  on  Immigration  .... 

48 

VII. 

Oriental  Immigration 

63 

. CHAPTER  IV 

CHILD  LABOR 

I. 

Introduction 

59 

II. 

History  of  Child  Labor  . . . 

60 

III. 

Extent  of  Child  Labor  in  the  United  States 

64 

IV. 

Causes  of  Child  Labor 

65 

V. 

Effects  of  Child  Labor 

68 

VI. 

Prevention  of  Child  Labor  .... 

74 

VII. 

Child  Idleness 

78 

CHAPTER  V 

WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

I. 

Rise  of  the  Problem  in  the  United  States  . • 

82 

II. 

Number  of  Women  Employed  .... 

84 

III. 

Occupations  Open  to  Women  .... 

84 

IV. 

Wages  of  Women  . . . . 

85 

V. 

Competition  of  Women  with  Men  . 

89 

VI. 

Legislation  in  Behalf  of  Working  Women  . 

90 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SWEATING  SYSTEM 

I. 

Introduction . 

96 

II. 

The  System  Described  . . . . 

, 

97 

Contents 


TL 


PAGE 

III.  Industries  in  which  the  System  Flourishes  . . . 100 

IV.  Causes  . 101 

V.  Evils  of  the  System  102 

VI.  Present  Status 107 

VII.  Attempts  at  Control  in  the  Past 107 

Vni.  Remedies  Proposed  ........  108 

IX.  Conclusion . .112 

CHAPTER  VII 

LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

I.  Labor  Organizations 115 

II.  Conditions  Giving  Rise  to  Labor  Organizations  . ; 117 

III.  Brief  History  of  Labor  Organizations  . . . .119 

IV.  Methods  and  Policies  of  Labor  Organizations  . ‘ . 124 

V.  Conclusion » . , . 135 

CHAPTER  VIII 
UNEMPLOYMENT 

I.  The  Costs  of  Unemployment 140 

II.  The  Extent  of  Unemployment 143 

III.  Causes  of  Unemployment  . ]45 

IV.  Remedies  Suggested  . . 150 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  BLIND  AND  THE  DEAF 

THE  BLIND 

X.  History  of  the  Care  of  the  Blind  ....  161 

II.  The  Blind  in  the  United  States 162 

III.  Causes  of  Blindness 163 

IV.  Prevention  of  Blindness  . . . . ^ . 163 

V.  Education  of  the  Blind 165 

VI.  The  Blind  in  Industry  171 

VII.  Summary , , 173 


Contents 


xii 

THE  DEAF 

PAGE 

I.  History  of  the  Training  of  the  Deaf  ....  174 

II.  The  Deaf  in  the  United  States 174 

III.  Causes  of  Deafness 175 

IV.  Prevention  of  Deafness 176 

V.  Education  of  the  Deaf 176 

VI.  The  Deaf  in  Industry  .......  180 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  FEEBLE-MINDED  AND  THE  'INSANE 

I..  The  Mental  Defective 184 

II.  Number  of  Mental  Defectives 185 

III.  -The  Feeble-minded .186 

IV.  The  Insane  . . . . . . . . . . 196 

V.  Cost  of  Mental  Defectiveness 203 

CHAPTER  XI 

CRIME  AND  PUNISHMENT 

I.  What  is  Crime  ? . . . 208 

II.  Extent  of  Crime 209 

III.  Change  in  the  Forms  of  Crime  .....  ^12 

IV.  Causes 214 

V.  Changing  Attitude  toward  Crime  and  Criminals  . 219 

VI.  Certain  Features  of  the  Modern  Treatment  of  Crimi- 
nals   222 

VII.  Prison  Labor 225 

Vin.  The  Juvenile  Offender 229 

* CHAPTER  XII 

MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE 

I.  The  Family,  the  Fundamental  Unit  of  Society  . . 235 

II.  The  Origin  of  t^e  Family  ......  236 


Contents 


xiii 

PAGE 

III.  Types  oe  Family 237 

IV.  The  Change  in  Relation  between  Husband  and  Wife  238 

V.  Marriage  Conditions  in  the  United  States  . . . 238 

VI.  Divorce  in  the  United  States , 243 

VII.  Legal  Grounds  for  Divorce  . . . . . . 245 

VIII.  Causes  for  Increase  of  Divorce 246 

IX.  Proposed  Remedies 250 

X.  Conclusion 252 

CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  LIQUOR  PROBLEM 

I.  Survey  of  the  Liquor  Traffic 256 

II.  Present  Status  of  the  Problem  .....  261 

III.  Effects  of  Intemperance  .......  266 

IV.  Control  of  the  Traffic 272 

V.  Associations  opposing  the  Traffic  . . . . .275 

VI.  Substitutes  for  the  Saloon  276 

VII.  The  Outlook 278 

CHAPTER  XIV 
POVERTY 

I.  Changing  Attitude  toward  Poverty  ....  285 

II.  Pauperism  versus  Poverty 287 

in.  Pauperism 287 

IV.  Extent  of  Poverty 289 

V.  Causes  of  Poverty . 290 

VI.  Remedies 301 

VII.  Poverty  versus  Wealth  Concentration  ....  302 

CHAPTER  XV 

CONSERVATION  OF  NATURAL  RESOURCES 
I.  Forests 308 

II.  Water 315 


XIV 


Contents 


PAGB 

III,  Minerals . . . 321 

IV.  Land 327 

CHAPTER  XVI 

CONSERVATION  OE  PLANT  AND  ANIMAL  LIEE 

I.  Introduction 335 

II.  Losses  from  Animal  Diseases 337 

III.  Losses  in  Plants . 342 

IV.  Decreasing  Amount  of  Wild  Game 346 

V.  Other  Savings  and  Factors  in  Increased  Production  . 349 

VI.  Conclusion  351 

CHAPTER  XVII 

CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

I.  Safety  . . , 356 

II.  Industrial  Diseases  366 

III.  Infant  Mortality  . 370 

IV.  Health  and  Sanitation .374 

V.  Conclusion  383 

Supplementary  Questions  ........  388 

Index 401 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  TEACHERS 


Ome  of  the  most  important  purposes  of  this  work  should  be 
to  train  the  beginner  in  the  study  of  the  social  sciences  to  find 
and  to  use  the  vast  amount  of  material  that  is  available  on 
such  subjects  as  are  here  presented.  Some  of  the  most  valu- 
able material  may  be  had  for  the  asking.  The  large  number 
of  government  publications  mentioned  throughout  the  text  may 
be  secured  by  writing  directly  to  the  particular  department 
or  bureau,  or  through  a request  to  the  member  of  Congress 
from  your  district.  Each  state  publishes  many  records,  pam- 
phlets, and  reports,  which  may  be  obtained  by  sending  to  the 
different  state  bureaus  and  departments.  Most  of  our  state 
universities  issue  bulletins  on  a great  number  of  economic  and 
social  questions. 

There  are  also  a great  many  voluntary  associations  interested 
in  the  study  of  different  phases  of  the  social  problems,  and 
doing  constructive  work  toward  their  solution.  These  asso- 
ciations have  collected  some  of  the  most  valuable  and  most 
recent  material  in  their  particular  fields,  and  are  glad  to  fur- 
nish this  material  on  request  to  those  interested.  The  Survey, 
under  the  heading  “Information  Desk,”  publishes  from  time 
to  time  a list  of  such  associations.  A recent  number  gives  a 
list  of  fifty-one  national  bodies,  with  their  addresses,  which 
“ will  gladly  and  freely  supply  information  and  advise  reading 
on  the  subjects  named  by  each,  and  on  related  subjects.” 

In  connection  with  this  work,  if  the  following  material  is 
not  already  at  hand,  send  for  the  latest  Statistical  Abstract 
of  the  United  States  (Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Com- 
merce) ; the  Abstract  of  the  latest  United  States  Census,  with 
supplement  for  your  particular  state  (Bureau  of  the  Census)  ; 

XV 


XM 


Suggestions  to.  Teachers 


such  special  reports  as  those  on  the  “ Blind  and  the  Deaf,” 
“The  Insane  and  Feeble-minded,”  “Prisoners  and  Juvenile 
Delinquents,”*  “ ]SIarriage  and  Divorce,”  “ ^Mortality  Statistics,” 
and  the  “ Statistical  Atlas  of  the  United  States  ”*  (Bureau  of 
the  Census) ; the  latest  Annual  Eeport  of  the  Commissioner 
General  of  Immigration;  the  A^ear  Book  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture ; the  summary  of  Labor  Legislation  for  the 
preceding  year,  as  published  each  year  by  the  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics  (a  Keview  of  Labor  Legislation  for  the  preceding 
year  is  also  published  each  year  by  the  American  Association 
for  Labor  Legislation)  ; and  the  “ ^Monthly  Eeview  of  the 
LTnited  States  Bureau  of'  Labor  Statistics.”  Send  for  the  list 
of  publications  of  the  various  bureaus,  and  from  these  lists 
send  for  such  bulletins  as  deal  with  the  different  topics  taken 
up  by  the  class.  Secure  a list  of  publications  of  your  own 
state,  and  send  for  such  reports  and  bulletins  as  would  be  of 
value  in  the  course.  The  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor 
should  be  of  particular  value  in  connection  with  the  several 
chapters  on  labor  conditions.  Send  for  the  latest  reports  of 
the  principal  institutions  of  your  state,  such  as  those  of  the 
State  Prison,  Eeformatories,  State  Asylums,  and  Schools  for 
the  Blind,  the  Deaf,  and  the  Feeble-minded.  Also  ascertain 
what  is  being  published  by  your  State  L’^niversity,  or  other 
colleges  and  universities  in  your  state,  and  how  these  pub- 
lications may  be  secured.  Let  different  members  of  the  class, 
under  supervision  of  the  instructor,  send  for  this  material  in 
order  that  they  may  familiarize  themselves  not  only  with  the 
material,  but  with  the  sources  from  which  it  may  be  obtained. 

For  reference  work,  two  almost  indispensable  books  for  this 
course  are,  “The  New  International  Tear  Book”  (Dodd,  Mead 
and  Co.),  and  the  “American  Year  Book”  (Appleton).  The 
World  Almanac,  published  in  February  of  each  year,  contaius 
a mass  of  statistical  information  regardiug  the  preceding  year. 
Constant  reference  should  be  made  to  these  books,  because  the 
most  recent  information  on  almost  every  topic  considered  in 
the  course  may  be  found  in  these  annual  publications.  The 


Suggestions  to  Teachers 


xvii 


“New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Beform,”  edited  by  Bliss  (Funk 
and  Wagnalls),  contains  much  valuable  and  reliable  informa- 
tion on  practically  all  econoruic  and  social  questions. 

A most  useful  adjunct  to  any  course  in  Social  Problems  is 
The  Survey,  one  of  the  sanest  and  most  constructive  publi- 
cations on  social  questions.  This  is  a weekly  magazine,  and 
contains  discussions  of  present  social  conditions  and  problems 
by  some  of  the  ablest  investigators  and  writers  in  the  country. 
Special  semester  rates  are  offered  for  classroom  use. 

If  only  limited  funds  are  available,  some  of  the  most  valu- 
able reference  books  are : for  the  chapters  on  labor  condi- 
tions, Carlton,  “History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,” 
and  Adams  and  Sumner,  “ Labor  Problems  ” ; for  the  chapters 
on  conservation.  Van  Hise,  “Conservation  of  Natural  Ee- 
sources  in  the  United  States  ” ; on  our  present  population  and 
immigration.  Boss,  “The  Old  World  in  the  New”;  and  for 
several  of  the  chapters,  Ellwood,  “ Sociology  and  Modern 
Social  Problems.”  Additional  material  will  be  found  in  re- 
ports of  state  and  national  conferences  and  congresses.  Other 
references  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  each  chapter. 

An  effort  should  be  made  to  relate  the  subject  matter  of 
each  chapter  to  the  present  time,  and  to  local  conditions.  To 
facilitate  this  phase  of  the  work  a set  of  supplementary, 
or  research,  questions  is  given  to  accompany  each  chapter. 
In  searching  for  the  answers  to  these  questions  the  students 
will  very  frequently  find  a hint  as  to  where  the  desired  infor- 
mation may  be  found  by  noting  the  references  throughout  the 
chapter  to  similar  topics.  Particular  questions  may  be  as- 
signed to  the  individual  members  of  the  class,  these  to  be 
reported  on  in  class,  the  other  members  taking  notes  on  these 
reports  and  being  held  responsible  for  the  gist  of  the  material 
so  presented.  These  questions  should  be  assigned  two  or  three 
weeks  in  advance  of  the  class  work  so  that  the  students  will 
have  time  to  send  for  such  material  as  may  be  necessary. 

It  will  add  greatly  to  the  interest,  and  to  the  value  of  the 
course,  to  have  the  class  visit  near-by  institutions  ; and  to  have 


xviii 


Suggestions  to  Teachers 


persons  of  prominence  in  the  different  fields  of  social  activity 
address  the  class  on  particular  phases  of  the  subjects  studied.. 
Students  should  be  encouraged  *to  bring  to  the  class  items  of 
information  from  the  various  monthly  and  weekly  publica- 
tions amd  from  the  daily  newspaper,  bearing  on  the  different 
topics  taken  up  for  class  discussion.  By  keeping  pamphlets, 
reports  of  institutions  and  associations,  clippings,  etc.,  carefully 
arranged  in  a filing  cabinet,  and  adding  to  them  from  year  to 
year,  an  extremely  valuable,  up-to-date  reference  library  on 
social  subjects  may  be  provided. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  NATURAL  CONDITIONS  ON 
ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

I.  General  introduction. 

II.  Configuration. 

1.  Altitude. 

2.  Natural  boundaries  and  frontiers. 

3.  Isolation. 

4.  Rivers  and  lakes. 

5.  The  sea. 

6.  Trade  routes. 

7.  Area  or  extent. 

III.  Climate. 

1.  Temperature. 

2.  Moisture. 

3.  Light. 

IV.  Soil. 

V.  Natural  resources. 

1.  Minerals. 

2.  Forest  and  plant  life. 

3.  Animal  resources. 

4.  Motive  forces. 

VI.  General  aspects  of  nature. 

VII.  Conclusion. 


General  introduction.  — Back  of  all  social  problems  are 
two  elements,  man  and  nature.  Man  is  the  living,  grow- 
ing, conscious  element,  ever  struggling  for  ascendancy. 
Nature  is  the  inert,  passive,  but  persistent  element,  which 
has  profoundly  influenced  man  at  every  stage  of  his  develop- 

B 1 


2 


Social  Problems 


ment.  Man’s  progress  is  largely  measured  by  his  increasing 
control  over  natural  conditions  and  natural  forces.  Man 
is  still  struggling,  that  he  may  the  more  completely  subdue 
the  elements  of,  nature,  — that  he  may  compel  the  forces 
of  nature  to  do  his  bidding. 

The  more  primitive  people  are  the  more  helpless  before 
nature.  Their  Hves  are  influenced  to  a greater  extent  by 
natural  conditions.  They  Have  brought  fewer  of  the  natural 
forces  under  subjection.  They  are  largely  dependent  upon 
what  nature  has  supplied  for  their  food,  their  clothing, 
their  shelter,  and  even  for  their  simple  tools  and  weapons. 
Natural  barriers,  easily  overcome  by  civilized  man,  are  for 
them  insurmountable.  They  dare  not  venture  far  upon  the 
sea  with  their  primitive  boats.  They  have  no  bridges  nor 
highways  and  hence  must  follow  routes  outlined  by  nature. 

As  man  advances  through  the  successive  stages  of  his 
development,  he  is  influenced  at  every  turn  by  his  environ- 
ment. In  his  movements  over  the  earth’s  surface  he  fol- 
lows natural  highways.  He  follows  the  courses  of  the 
great  rivers,  and  seeks  the  natural  passes  through  the  moun- 
tain ranges.  His  activities  in  his  efforts  to  get  a living 
are  determined  by  such  natural  features  as  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  the  climate,  and  the  nature  of  the  animal  and 
the  vegetable  life.  . . . 

Configuration.  — Of  these  geographic  conditions  which 
have  influenced  man  in  his  develoi)merit,  and  are  still  exert- 
ing an  influence  over  his  economic,  social,  and  political 
life,  the  most  evident  factor  is  that  of  Configuration,  In 
considering  the  configuration  of  any  country,  we  think  of 
its  altitude,  its  natural  boundaries  and  frontiers,  its  isolation, 
its  rivers  and  lakes,  its  sea  coast,  its  trade  routes,  and  its 
area  or  extent.  Each  of  these  has  affected  the  development 
of  the  country  and  the  life  of  its  people  in  various  ways. 

Altitude. — ^It  is  human  nature  to  seek  to  follow  lines  of 
least  resistance.  ;iErom  earliest  times,  people  have  tended 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions  3 

to  congregate  within  areas  having  a comparatively  low 
altitude.  Nearly  all  the  great  cities  of  the  past  have  been 
at,  or  near,  the  sea  level.  Some  sixteen  millions  of  people, 
in  the  United  States  alone,  are  living  in  an  altitude  of  less 
than  one  hundred  feet  above  sea  level.  The  lowlands,  if 
they  are  fertile,  invite  commercial  and  political  expansion. 
Such  lands  are  well  adapted  for  agriculture  and  trade,  and 
are  capable  of  supporting  dense  populations.  High  alti- 
tudes become  settled  later  and  are  usually  characterized 
by  sparsity  of  population.  Fewer  industries  are  adapted 
to  these  higher  elevations  and  fewer  people  can  be  sup- 
ported here.  Such  agriculture  as  is  found  here  is  carried 
on  under  difficult  conditions  which  become  more  adverse 
as  the  altitude  increases.  In  the  mountain  regions  of 
Switzerland,  the  shepherd  tends  his  small  flock;  while  on 
the  mountain  sides,  by  means  of  steady,  patient  toil,  the 
slopes  are  terraced,  and  agriculture  on  a very  small  scale 
becomes  the  prevailing  mode  of  making  a living.  Com- 
paratively few  people  permanently  reside  in  higher  alti- 
tudes, and  practically  the  only  industry  carried  on  here  is 
that  of  mining.^ 

Natural  boundaries  and  frontiers!^  — A political  map  of 
Europe  placed  by  the  side  of  a physical  map  of  the  same 
territory  will  show  at  a glance  the  remarkable  influence 
the  natural  features  have  had  in  determining  the  present 
boimdaries  of  the  various  states.  Of  these  natural  bound- 
aries, the  sea  is  the  most  absolute,  particularly  with  the 
earlier  peoples.  The  mountain  range  is  next  in  importance, 
but  this  is  less  definite  than  the  shore  line,  and  then,  too, 
it  is  often  broken  by  natural  passes.  Great  rivers  have 
often  served  as  natural  boundaries,  although  the  river  valley 
has  more  often  been  the  center  of  some  racial  or  political 
group. 

The  progress  of  any  people,  whether  it  be  that  of  an  early 
1 Numerals  refer  to  list  of  references  at  close  of  each  chapter. 


4 


Social  Problems 


primitive  race,  or  the  most  advanced  nation  of  to-day,  is 
greatly  hampered  by  the  lack  of  protection  which  a natural 
barrier  affords.  Their  industrial  life  cannot  reach  its  highest 
development  if  constantly  interrupted  by  attacks  from 
without.  It  is  likewise  an  enormous  drain  upon  the  wealth 
and  energy  of  a country  to  have  to  remain  in  a state  of  con- 
stant preparedness  for  war.  It  is  in  such  countries  that 
militarism  reaches  its  highest  development.  The  French 
and  the  German  people  are  separated  from  each  other  by 
the  fertile  valley  of  the  Rhine.  This  valley  has  been  a 
scene  of  conflict  between  these  nations  from  the  division  of 
Charlemagne’s  empire  down  to  the  present  time.  One 
cannot  but  reflect  on  how  the  course  of  history  might  have 
been  changed,  and  how  enormous  the  saving  to  each  country 
in  human  life,  and  in  all  of  the  other  terrible  costs  of  war, 
could  these  nations  but  have  been  protected  from  each  other 
by  a great  natural  barrier. 

Those  countries  in  Europe  that  are  separated  from  the 
others  by  natural  boundaries  were  the  first  to  be  developed. 
The  Grecian,  Itahan,  and  Spanish  peninsulas  were  the  centers 
of  unified  national  development  earlier  than  the  other  parts 
of  Europe.  England  had  the  sea  as  a natural  boundary. 
This  detachment  from  the  continent  was  a factor  in  the 
early  breaking  down  of  feudalism  (and  serfdom),  in  the  more 
rapid  advance  of  personal  and  political  liberty,  and  in  greater 
freedom  from  invasion  and  wars  on  her  own  soil ; all  of 
which  materially  aided  her  in  securing  the  position  of  suprem- 
acy to  which  she  later  attained. 

Along  these  boundaries,  on  the  frontiers,^  we  find  various 
influences  affecting  the  lives  of  the  people.  There  is  more 
of  a mingling  with  people  of  other  races  and  of  other  religions. 
This  brings  in  new  ideas  and  new  customs.  At  the  same 
time,  the  distance  from  the  center  of  the  national  govern- 
ment tends  to  weaken  the  influence  and  the  control  over 
these  outlying  sections.  Uprisings  against  the  central 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions 


5 


authority  are  more  apt  to  occur  here.  The  people  are  more 
impatient  of  restraint,  are  more  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
freedom,  of  enterprise,  and  of  self-reliance. 

Isolation.^  — Natural  barriers  are  advantageous  to  a 
certain  degree.  If  too  exclusive,  they  may  produce  isola- 
tion. To  be  cut  off  from  intercourse  with  other  communi- 
ties, and  to  lose  the  stimulus  of  contact  with  new  ideas,  is  a 
serious  handicap  to  the  best  national  progress.  This  pre- 
vention of  the  intermingling  with  other  peoples  tends  to 
produce  greater  economic  and  racial  unity,  and  may  stimulate 
the  early  development  of  a people.  Such  isolated  and  pro- 
tected countries  as  Crete,  Phoenicia,  and  Greece,  in  their 
early  days  had  a rapid,  almost  precocious  growth  of  civiliza- 
tion, but  soon  reached  a period  of  stagnation,  and  then  of 
decline.  The  general  effect  of  isolation  upon  any  people, 
as  upon  a single  individual,  is  to  make  them  self-sufficient, 
to  prevent  progress;  hence  in  the  more  isolated  communi- 
ties we  are  apt  to  find  more  ignorance  and  superstition, 
and  an  earlier  crystallization  of  thought  and  custom.® 

Rivers  and  lakes.  — Rivers  play  a most  important  part 
in  the  development  of  all  countries,  and  particularly  in  the 
development  of  the  larger  countries.  It  is  these  natural 
highways  that,  in  the  early  stages,  make  the  land  accessible. 
One  need  but  compare  America  with  Africa  ® to  see  what  an 
important  part  rivers  may  play  in  the  opening  up  of  a 
continent  to  settlenient  and  commerce.  In  America,  the 
many  navigable  rivers  form  a network  of  intercommunica- 
tion. The  rivers  of  Africa  do  not  form  such  a network, 
and  this  is  one  reason  why  Africa,  though  so  long  ago  dis- 
covered, is  still  but  slowly  opening  up  to  the  inroads  of 
commerce. 

The  first  settlements  in  the  newer  countries  are  almost 
invariably  made  near  the  mouths  of  the  rivers.  As  the 
people  proceed  inward,  the  most  natural  route  for  them  to 
take  is  along  these  same  rivers.  The  westward  movement 


6 


Social  Problems 


of  the  people  within  the  United  States  has  been  along  the 
great  water  courses.  Likewise  the  Great  Lakes,  with 
their  4000  miles  of  shore  line,  have  influenced  the  course 
of  migrations,  and  the  locations  of  cities  and  towns.  Of  the 
twenty  largest  cities  in  the  United  States,  eight  are  on  the 
sea,  six  on  the  rivers,  and  five  on  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  very  fact  that  a river  is  a natural  highway  makes  it  a 
poor  boundary.'^  The  tendency  is  rather  for  the  entire 
valley  to  become  a racial  and  social  unit,  to  be  settled  by 
people  of  the  same  race,  with  similar  tastes  and  customs, 
and  engaged  in  similar  lines  of  industry.  When  such  a 
valley  is  located  between  two  conflicting  nations,  it  is  apt 
to  be  a center  of  conflict. 

The  sea ^ — In  early  times,  with  navigation  still  in  its 
cruder  stages,  a water  front  is  a protection  to  a people. 
Later,  as  man  advances,  and  as  navigation  becomes  more 
highly  developed,  the  ocean  becomes  his  most  important 
highway.  By  water  routes  more  distant  lands  are  made 
accessible.  The  products  of  other  lands  are  made  available 
for  his  use.  Man  is  stimulated  through  contact  with  other 
civilizations. 

Accessibility  by  sea^  is  in  many  ways  more  important 
than  by  land.  A great  many  more  routes  are  made  available, 
and  routes  to  the  more  remote  portions  of  the  globe.  Such 
accessibility  stimulates  the  development  of  the  resources 
of  a country,  and  the  carrying  on  of  trade  and  commerce 
with  other  nations.  Russia  has  been  seriously  handicapped 
in  the  development  of  its  resources  through  not  having  any 
favorable  ocean  outlet  for  its  products.  One  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  recent  Russo-Japanese  war  was  the  desire  to 
secure  such  an  outlet. 

Transportation  by  water  is  much  cheaper  than  by  land. 
This  is  important  in  determining  the  direction  of  commerce. 
One  reason  for  the  developing  of  the  interior  waterways  is 
to  make  these  sections  of  the  country  more  readily  accessible 


Along  this  canal  workers  in  a dying  industry  toil  eighteen  hours  a day  for  a meager  living. 


/;■ 


.Ms 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions  7 

to  the  ocean  trade.  The  location  of  many  of  our  largest 
cities  is  determined  by  the  natural  facilities  for  shipping 
which  they  possess. 

The  industries  in  many  localities  are  determined  by 
nearness  to  the  sea.  Such  industries  as  fishing  and  ship- 
building are  carried  on  almost  exclusively  in  the  coast  towns. 
Ocean  transportation  in  itself  gives  employment  to  large 
numbers  of  the  population. 

Trade  routes.  — Natural  routes  of  travel  and  trade  have 
played  an  important  part  in  the  development  of  all  coun- 
tries. The  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  of  the 
Danube  and  the  Rhine,  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Ohio, 
have  been  great  natural  highways,  and  have  seen  successive 
migrations  of  people  along  their  courses.  To-day,  man  is 
pushing  up  the  valley  of  the  Yukon  and  down  the  valley 
of  the  Mackenzie.  The  great  natural  passes  of  the  Alps 
have  directed  the  course  of  travel  through  that  region  since 
the  early  Romans  first  wandered  north  into  central  Europe. 

First  the  rude  trails,  then  the  roadways,  and  finally  the 
railways,  have  followed  these  “ nature-made  thorough- 
fares.” Cities  have  been  established  at  advantageous 
points  along  these  routes.  Although  man  is  now  able  to 
overcome  the  desert  and  tunnel  the  mountain,  his  travel 
and  his  commerce  are  still  largely  along  these  natural 
highways. 

Area  or  extent.  — The  area  or  extent  “ of  any  country 
is  of  varying  importance  in  the  successive  stages  of  its 
development.  In  the  early  stages,  a small  area  brings  the 
people  into  closer  contact  with  one  another.  This  tends  to 
develop  a national  consciousness  and  facilitates  the  estab- 
hshing  of  a more  strongly  centralized  government.  All 
parts  are  in  close  communication  with  each  other  and  with 
the  center  of  government.  On  the  other  hand,  a large 
area  is  apt  to  have  a greater  diversity  of  peoples.  Com- 
munication with  the  remote  parts  is  much  more  difl5.cult, 


8 


Social  Problems 


and  there  is  not  that  bond  of  sympathy  or  of  ideas  that  we 
find  in  the  smaller,  more  compact  groups.  /Difficulties  of 
control  over  these  outlying  sections  are  much  greater. 
There  is  apt  to  be  such  a diversity  of  industries  and  of 
interests  as  to  engender  sectional  strife.  These  factors  tend 
to  retard  the  growth  of  national  unity. 

In  the  later  stages,  restriction  in  area  may  prevent  a 
people  from  becoming  powerful.  Area  necessarily  hmits 
population,  and  a small  nation,  through  its  limitation  in 
numbers  alone,  may  be  prevented  from  becoming  one  of 
the  powerful  nations  of  the  world.  A large  area  with  great 
resources  can  support  a large  population  and  hence  has  far 
greater  possibihties.  Also  a large  area  is  apt  to  have  greater 
natural  resources,  to  furnish  a greater  variety  of  occupations, 
and  hence  is  much  more  nearly  self-sustaining,  — its  people 
are  less  dependent  upon  the  products  of  other  countries. 

A limited  area  with  an  increasing  population  means  a more 
intensive  agriculture  and  a fuller  utilization  of  the  natural 
resources.  Also,  a more  dense  population  gives  rise  to 
changed  social  conditions  and  to  many  new  social  problems. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  any  country  — that  is, 
its  light,  heat,  and  moisture  — largely  determines  the  fertil- 
ity of  the  soil,  and  consequently  the  animal  and  vegetable 
resources  of  that  country.  These,  in  turn,  have  the  greatest 
influence  in  determining  the  industries,  and  even  the  char- 
acteristics, of  the  people.  Climate  may  be  said  to  limit  the 
habitable  portions  of  the  globe,  and  it  underlies  many  of 
the  other  natural  features.  One  need  but  think  of  the  veg- 
etation of  the  tropical  regions  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
frigid  zones,  or  of  the  returns  for  man’s  efforts  in  the  fertile 
valleys  as  compared  with  the  returns  in  the  arid  desert  regions, 
to  realize  how  all  forms  of  life  — vegetable,  animal,  yes,  even 
human  — have  been  influenced  by  climatic  conditions. 

Temperature.  — The  tropics  have  been  called  the  “ cradle 
of  humanity,”  and  the  temperate  zones  the  “ cradle  and 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions 


9 


school  of  civilization.”  Many  of  the  earliest  states  arose 
and  flourished  in  a warm  climate,  where  but  little  effort  was 
required  to  make  a living.  Man’s  food  was  furnished 
directly  by  nature,  and  he  needed  but  little  clothing  and 
shelter ; but  the  tendency  was  for  him  to  rely  upon  nature 
rather  than  upon  his  own  efforts.  Through  lack  of  stimulus 
to  exertion,  the  people  become  indolent,  lacking  in  initiative. 
Stagnation  has  resulted,  and  we  find  no  strong  civihzations 
to-day  which  have  developed  in  the  heat  of  the  tropics. 
Extreme  heat  has  an  enervating  effect  upon  any  people, 
and  those  hving  under  such  conditions  have  not  the  vigor 
or  the  energy  of  the  people  living  in  a cooler  and  more 
bracing  atmosphere. 

The  opposite  extreme  of  temperature  is  quite  as  serious  a 
handicap  to  man’s  development.  The  resources  in  the  very 
cold  regions  are  extremely  hmited.  But  few  occupations 
are  possible,  and  only  a very  sparse  population  can  be  sup- 
ported. Life  becomes  very  monotonous.  Under  such  ad- 
verse conditions,  practically  all  of  man’s  energy  is  expended 
in  the  mere  effort  to  get  a living,  and  but  little  advance  is 
made  in  improving  his  condition. 

Because  of  the  unfavorable  influences  of  these  extremes  in 
temperature,  we  find  that  nearly  all  of  the  great  events  in 
history  have  taken  place  within  the  temperate  regions.  The 
great  civihzations  of  the  world  have  developed  here,  and  it 
is  within  these  areas  that  man  is  expected  to  make  the 
greatest  progress  in  the  future. 

Moisture.  — The  influence  of  humidity  is  closely  bound  up 
with  that  of  temperature,  and  its  extremes  have  much  the 
same  influence  as  extremes  in  temperature.  The  map  of 
any  country  shows  a close  relation  between  its  rainfall 
and  the  density  of  its  population.  We  find  our  great  forests 
only  within  those  regions  where  the  rainfall  is  sufficient  to 
maintain  them.  The  vegetable  life,  and  even  the  animal 
fife,  of  any  section  is  largely  determined  by  its  rainfall. 


tc>  Social  Problems 

Sections  with  but  a very  low  rainfall  are  apt  to  be  dry,  arid 
wastes,  capable  of  supporting  but  a very  thinly  scattered 
population;  whereas  those  sections  having  frequent  rains 
are  often  found  supporting  large  populations  on  compar- 
atively small  areas. 

Light.  — The  length  of  day  and  night  has  its  influence 
upon  the  maturing  of  the  harvests,  and  upon  the  habits  of 
a people.  As  we  approach  the  Arctic  Circle,  the  sun  shines 
throughout,  the  summer  months  during  a much  greater 
proportion  of  the  twenty-four  hours.  This  greater  length 
of  day  in  the  northern  sections  enables  the  grains  to  mature, 
even  though  the  seasons  are  much  shorter  than  farther 
south.  The  long  night,  with  its  consequent  periods  of 
enforced  idleness,  is  not  conducive  to  the  forming  of  habits 
of  industry.  But  few  industries  can  be  carried  on  here, 
and  such  work  as  is  done  is  carried  on  in  a desultory,  un- 
systematic way,  and  under  very  great  disadvantages. 

Soil.  — The  fertility  of  the  soiP®  largely  determines  the 
density  of  the  population  that  can  be  supported  upon  any 
given  area.  This  in  turn  affects  the  social  life  of  the  people 
in  many  ways.  A fertile  soil  tends  to  keep  people  at  home, 
and  results  in  a fixity  of  abode.  This  gives  an  opportunity 
for  the  growth  of  social  institutions,  and  for  the  establishing 
of  more  stable  forms  of  government. 

An  infertile  soil  has  the  opposite  effect.  It  can  support 
but  sparsely  settled  communities.  As  the  population  in- 
creases, men  are  compelled  to  look  elsewhere  for  the  means 
of  existence.  It  does  not  lead  to  the  establishing  of  per- 
manent homes,  but  rather  to  a wandering,  nomadic  life. 
People  have  to  rely  upon  industries  other  than  agriculture, 
and  often  depend  upon  other  lands  for  their  food  supply. 
This  frequently  leads  them  into  conflict  with  other  peoples. 

A reasonable  degree  of  fertility  is  undoubtedly  more  con- 
ducive to  man’s  development  than  either  extreme^  In  the 
one  case,  nature  is  so  lavish  as  not  to  require  sufficient  effort 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions  ii 

to  develop  strength  and  vigor ; in  the  other,  she  discourages 
effort  through  the  meager  returns  which  man  gets  for  his 
industry. 

Natural  resources.  — The  natural  resources  of  the 
various  countries  have  played  a most  important  part  in  all 
stages  of  their  development.  They  have  not  only  often 
determined  the  movements  of  the  population,  but  have  also 
determined  the  concentrating  of  the  people  within  particular 
areas,  as  well  as  the  industry  in  which  many  of  them  have 
engaged.  They  have  furnished  the  raw  materials  for  many 
industries,  and  have  been  the  source  of  great  wealth  for  many 
sections. 

Minerals.  — Mineral  resources  have  played  so  important 
a part  in  man’s  development  that  successive  stages  of  his 
advance  have  been  called  the  “ stone  age,”  the  “ bronze 
age,”  and  the  ‘‘  iron  age.”  The  search  for  mineral  wealth 
has  been  back  of  many  of  the  expeditions  of  discovery  from 
the  early  expeditions  to  the  tin  mines  of  Devon,  or  Cornwall, 
to  the  opening  up  of  the  gold  mines  of  South  Africa  and 
Alaska.  The  desire  for  gold  and  silver  and  other  precious 
metals  has  been  back  of  many  colonization  schemes,  has 
led  people  to  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  earth,  and  has 
been  the  cause  of  many  conflicts  between  nations.  The 
early  settlements  in  Peru,  in  Mexico,  and  in  our  own  western 
states  were  made  by  men  attracted  there  primarily  be- 
cause of  the  rich  mineral  deposits.  These  resources  have 
been  the  basis,  not  only  of  great  individual  fortunes,  but 
also  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  many  of  our  great  nations. 
The  kind  of  mineral  wealth  has.  determined  the  kind  of  in- 
dustry in  many  locahties,  and  these,  in  turn,  have  affected 
social  conditions.  The  close  proximity  of  coal  and  iron  has 
likewise  determined  the  location  of  many  of  the  greatest 
manufacturing  centers. 

Forest  and  plant  life.  — The  forests  not  only  furnish  great 
natural  wealth  in  such  products  as  lumber,  tar,  pitch,  and 


12 


Social  Problems 


turpentine,  but  determine  the  character  of  many  industries. 
They  also  affect  the  rainfall,  and  consequently  the  fertility 
of  the  soil.  The  lumber  industry  differs  from  many  indus- 
tries in  that  it  employs  almost  exclusively  men,  and  is  of  a 
seasonal  character.  That  men  can  be  employed  in  the 
logging  camps  but  a few  months  of  the  year  increases  the 
complexity  of  the  problem  of  unemployment. 

Grains  and  fruits  have  been  an  important  factor  in  the 
food  supply  of  practically  all  peoples.  Particular  localities 
are  especially  adapted  to  the  raising  of  certain  products; 
hence  we  find  great  areas  largely  given  over  to  the  raising 
of  rice,  cotton,  tobacco,  corn,  wheat,  or  whatever  can  be 
most  advantageously  produced. 

Animal  resources.  — Another  important  source  of  food 
supply  from  the  earliest  time  down  to  the  present  has 
been  wild  game  and  fish.  Fisheries  have  determined  the 
location  of  many  settlements,  and  have  given  occupation 
to  many  people.  The  hunting  of  fur-bearing  animals  has 
led  men  into  new  and  unexplored  regions,  and  has  opened 
the  way  for  later  settlements.  The  presence  of  animals 
that  could  be  domesticated,  such  as  the  horse,  the  cow,  and 
the  sheep,  have  played  a most  important  part  in  man’s 
economic  development.  The  domestication  of  animals 
assured  him  of  a more  permanent  food  supply.  He  relied 
less  upon  hunting  and  fishing,  and  tended  to  occupy  a 
permanent  abode.  Animals  were  early  made  to  serve  him 
as  beasts  of  burden,  and  have  aided  him  in  his  migrations 
and  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil. 

Motive  forces.  — Of  the  motive  forces^®  that  man  has  made 
to  serve  him,  the  first  was  the  strength  of  the  animals  that 
he  had  domesticated.  With  such  aid,  he  was  able  to  travel 
greater  distances  and  much  more  quickly,  to  carry  greater 
loads,  and  to  till  the  soil  with  greater  ease. 

The  power  of  the  winds  and  the  streams  was  next  brought 
under  subjection.  From  earliest  times  down  to  the  past 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions  13 

century,  wind  was  the  most  important  factor  in  water  trans- 
portation, and  it  has  been  used  to  turn  the  mills  in  many 
countries.  The  power  of  the  waterfall  has  long  been 
known  and  utilized.  Advantageous  points  for  the  utiliza- 
tion of  such  power  have  determined  the  location  of  many  of 
our  most  important  industrial  centers.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  power  of  Niagara  alone  is  equal  to  about  3,800,000 
horse-power.  Of  the  total  primary  stationary  power  now 
being  used  in  the  United  States,  it  is  estimated  that  about 
one  fifth,  or  six  million  horse-power,  is  derived  from  our 
rivers,  and  that  at  least  fifty  million  more  horse-power 
remains  to  be  developed.^® 

Since  the  discovery  of  steam  and  its  application  to  in- 
dustry, man  has  been  less  dependent  upon  the  location  of 
waterfalls.  He  has  been  able  to  establish  the  mill  or  the 
factory  wherever  fuel  and  water  have  been  available.  By 
the  use  of  electricity,^^  he  is  able  to  transport  power  to  great 
distances,  and  to  utilize  it  in  innumerable  ways. 

General  aspects  of  nature. — Nature  not  only  supplies 
various  products  which  man  can  use  in  the  satisfaction  of 
his  wants,  and  forces  which  he  can  compel  to  aid  him  in 
his  work,  but  also  exerts  an  influence  upon  the  temperament 
and  character  of  man  himself.^®  It  has  been  said  that  the 
people  living  in  the  mountain  regions,  or  on  the  vast  prairies, 
are  apt  to  be  overawed  by  nature.  Th^  imagination  has 
freer  play.  They  are  less  inclined  to  attempt  to  explain 
natural  phenomena,  and  are  more  superstitious.  In  other 
parts  of  the  earth  where  the  phenomena  are  not  so  awe- 
inspiring they  do  not  hold  man  in  such  terror.  He  has  more 
confidence  in  himself  and  makes  more  effort  to  understand 
nature.  Here  nature  appeals  rather  to  the  understanding, 
and  man  progresses  in  all  lines  much  more  rapidly.  Semple 
speaks  of  the  absence  of  artistic  and  poetic  development  in 
Switzerland  and  the  Alpine  lands  as  being  due  to  ‘‘  the 
overwhelming  aspects  of  nature  there,  its  majestic  sublimity 


14 


Social  Problems 


which  paralyzes  the  mind  ” ; and  these  regions  are  com» 
pared  with  the  lower  mountain  and  hill  country,  “ where 
nature  is  gentle,  stimulating,  appealing,  and  not  over- 
powering,” which  has  produced  many  poets  and  artists. 

Conclusion.  — In  these  various  ways  have  geographic 
conditions  played  an  important  part  in  man’s  development. 
In  the  early  stages  of  his  advance  he  was  practically  helpless. 
He  was  dependent  upon  what  he  found  for  the  satisfaction 
of  his  wants.  As  he  grew  in  intelligence,  he  began  to  make 
things.  This  was  his  first  step  towards  overcoming  his 
physical  environment.  Even  yet  he  was  largely  dependent 
upon  what  was  supplied  him  directly  by  nature.  Conse- 
quently, we  find  him  living  in  those  regions  where  nature 
had  been  the  most  lavish,  where  his  food  supply  was  found 
ready  at  hand  and  could  be  secured  with  the  least  effort 
and  with  the  most  primitive  means,  where  the  climate  was 
such  that  he  could  readily  protect  himself  against  its  ex- 
tremes, and  where  only  the  simplest  processes  of  . life  were 
required  for  his  existence. 

As  man  progressed,  he  became  less  directly  dependent 
upon  nature.^  He  began  to  raise  things,  and  thus  to  pro- 
duce his  own  food  supply.  Through  the  use  of  clothing, 
the  building  of  houses,  and  his  knowledge  of  fire,  he  was  able 
to  withstand  greater  extremes  of  climate.  Inventions  and 
discoveries  increased  his  power.  The  paddle,  the  oar,  the 
sail,  and  finally  steam,  have  enabled  him  to  go  to  the  most 
remote  parts  of  the  earth.  Improved  transportation  facili- 
ties have  enabled  him  to  secure  from  these  remote  regions 
all  manner  of  products  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  wants. 

In  these  simple  ways  did  man  begin  to  modify  his  environ- 
ment.We  need  but  look  about  us  to  realize  the  success 
that  has  come  to  him.  The  sea,  once  a natural  barrier,  has 
become  his  most  important  highway,  connecting  him  with 
all  parts  of  the  earth.  He  has  been  able  to  tunnel  the  moun- 
tain and  bridge  the  stream.  Improved  methods  of  travel, 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions  15 

of  transportation,  and  of  communication  have  broken  up  his 
isolation.  He  is  brought  in  touch  with  other  peoples  and 
other  conditions.  Through  drainage  and  dikes,  great  areas 
of  low  lands  have  been  redeemed,  while  through  irrigation 
great  tracts  of  arid  lands  have  been  made  fertile.  Through 
sanitation  he  is  making  fever-stricken  places  habitable. 
Through  transmission  of  power  he  has  become  less  dependent 
upon  the  waterfall  or  the  coal  beds  for  the  location  of  his 
industrial  centers.  As  an  intelligent,  resourceful,  thinking 
being  he  has  been  able  to  overcome  these  natural  barriers, 
to  make  the  arid  regions  contribute  to  his  sustenance,  and 
even  to  compel  the  forces  of  nature  to  assist  him  in  his 
varied  activities. 

The  part  that  nature  played  in  influencing  man’s  develop- 
ment was  for  a long  time  greatly  underestimated.  Later 
the  tendency  was  to  go  to  the  other  extreme  and  attempt 
to  explain  all  social  phenomena  in  the  light  of  man’s  physical 
environment.  While  not  underestimating  the  influence  of 
natural  conditions,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  us  to  realize 
what  man  himself  has  done,  and  is  doing,  in  resisting  and 
in  overcoming  nature;  and  what  man  can  contribute  to 
human  welfare  through  the  conscious  directing  of  natural 
forces. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  was  primitive  man  so  dependent  upon  nature? 

2.  In  what  ways  has  the  configuration  of  the  earth’s  surface 
influenced  man’s  development? 

3.  How  has  altitude  affected  the  location  of  peoples?  Of  in- 
dustries ? 

4.  Man’s  progress  has  been  influenced  in  what  way  by  natural 
boundaries  and  frontiers  ? 

5.  What  is  the  general  effect  of  isolation  upon  any  people  ? 

6.  How  do  rivers  influence  settlements? 

7.  Does  a river  make  a good  boundary?  Why? 

8.  Explain  the  importance  of  accessibility  by  sea. 

9.  Natural  routes  of  travel  have  played  what  part  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a country? 


i6 


Social  Problems 


10.  A small  area  may  have  what  influence  on  the  development  of 
a country?  A large  area? 

11.  What  phases  of  life  are  influenced  by  climatic  conditions? 

12.  Why  have  the  tropics  been  called  “ the  cradle  of  human- 
ity”? 

13.  Why  are  the  temperate  zones  spoken  of  as  “ the  cradle  and 
school  of  civiHzation  ”? 

14.  What  relation  is  there  between  the  rainfall  of  a country  and 
the  density  of  its  population? 

15.  What  effect  has  the  length  of  day  and  night  upon  the  in- 
dustries of  a people?  Upon  the  habits  of  a people? 

16.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  has  what  bearing  on  the  growth  of 
social  institutions  ? 

17.  In  what  ways  have  the  mineral  resources  of  a country  in- 
fluenced man’s  development? 

18.  How  have  the  forests  and  other  plant  life  contributed  to 
man’s  wants? 

19.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  animal  resources  of  a 
country  ? 

20.  What  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  motive  forces  used 
by  man? 

21.  In  what  ways  do  the  general  aspects  of  nature  affect  the 
. character  of  man  himself? 

22.  In  what  ways  has  man  modifled  his  environment  ? 

REFERENCES 

1.  Semple,  Influences  of  Geographic  Environment,  p.  560. 

2.  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Vol.  78,  p.  167. 

3.  Semple,  p.  231. 

4.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.,  Vol.  78,  p.  168. 

5.  Semple,  p.  19. 

6.  Gide,  Political  Economy,  p.  98. 

7.  Semple,  p.  360. 

8.  Hinsdale,  How  to  Study  and  Teach  History,  p.  124. 

9.  Semple,  p.  214. 

10.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.,  Vol.  78,  pp.  172-3. 

11.  Bluntschli,  The  Theory  of  the  State,  p.  239. 

12.  Semple,  Chap.  17. 

13.  Bluntschli,  p.  226. 

14.  Seligman,  Principles  of  Economics,  pp.  37-8. 

15.  Semple,  p.  635. 


The  Influence  of  Natural  Conditions 


17 


16.  Bluntschli,  p.  232. 

17.  Gettell,  Introduction  to  Political  Science,  pp.  23-5. 

18.  Gettell,  p.  23. 

19.  Gide,  p.  103.  , 

20.  Nelson’s  Encyclopedia,  Article  “Water  Power.” 

21.  Gettell,  p.  26. 

22.  Buckle,  History  of  Civilization  in  England,  p.  85. 

23.  Semple,  pp.  18-19. 

24.  Semple,  p.  69. 

25.  Dealey,  Sociology,  pp.  96-7. 

26.  Seligman,  pp.  42-5. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Semple,  Influences  of  Geographic  Environment,  an  exhaustive  work 
covering  this  entire  subject. 

Buckle,  History  of  Civilization  in  England,  Vol.  I,  Ch.  II : Carver, 
Selections  in  Sociology  and  Social  Progress,  Ch.  X. 

Thomas,  Source  Book  for  Social  Origins,  Part  I. 

Bluntschli,  The  Theory  of  the  State,  Book  III,  Chs.  I-IV. 

Gide,  Political  Economy,  Book  I,  Ch.  I. 

Seligman,  Principles  of  Economics,  Ch.  III. 

Chapin,  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Social  Evolution,  Ch.  V. 

GetteU,  Introduction  to  Political  Science,  Ch.  III. 

Hayes,  “Effects  of  Geographic  Conditions  upon  Social  Realities,” 
American  Journal  of  Sociology,  May,  1914. 

Tower,  “Geographic  Influence  in  the  Evolution  of  Nations,”  Popu- 
lar Science  Monthly,  February,  1911. 

Morse,  Causes  and  Effects  in  American  History. 

Semple,  American  History  and  Its  Geographic  Conditions. 

Bogart,  Economic  History  of  the  United  States,  Ch.  I. 

Coman,  Industrial  History  of  the  United  States,  Ch.  I. 


C 


CHAPTER  II 


POPULATION 

I.  Present  status. 

II.  Rate  of  increase. 

III.  Density. 

IV.  Urban  and  rural. 

V.  Distribution  by  natural  features. 

VI.  Center  of  population. 

VII.  Race. 

VIII.  Nativity. 

IX.  Sex. 

X.  School  Age. 

XI.  Illiteracy. 

XII.  Voting  strength. 

XIII.  Potential  militia. 

XIV.  Intercensal  estimates  of  the  population. 


Present  status.  — In  studying  the  social  conditions  of  any 
country,  naturally  the  first  thing  about  which  one  would 
need  to  know  is  the  number  of  people  living  within  its 
boundaries.  Approximately  ninety-two  million  people  were 
living  within  continental  United  States  at  the  time  of  the 
last  Census.^  In  comparing  this  population  with  that  of  the 
other  great  countries  of  the  world,  we  find  that  it  is  only 
about  one  fourth  of  the  population  of  China,  a little  less 
than  one  fourth  of  that  of  the  British  Empire,  and  about 
three  fifths  of  that  of  Russia. ^ These  are  the  only  countries 
in  the  world  having  a larger  population  than  the  United 
States.  Of  the  countries  having  fewer  people  than  ours, 
France  with  her  colonies  comes  first,  with  a population 
closely  approximating  that  of  the  United  States.  Next  in 
size  come  Germany  and  Japan,  each  with  a population  equal 
to  about  two  thirds  of  that  of  this  country.  The  populations 
of  England  and  Scotland,  of  Prussia,  and  of  France  are 

i8 


Population  ig 

about  the  same,  each  being  about  two  fifths  that  of  the 
United  States. 

If  we  add  to  the  population  of  continental  United  States 
that  of  all  its  outlying  possessions,  we  find  that  about  one 
hundred  and  one  millions  of  people  were  living  under  the 
American  flag  in  1910.  Of  the  total  number  living  in 
these  outlying  possessions,  over  four  fifths  are  found  within 
the  Philippines,  and  about  one  tenth  in  Porto  Rico. 

Rate  of  increase.  — Quite  as  important  as  the  number 
within  a country,  is  the  rapidity  of  its  growth  in  population. ^ 
The  United  States,  being  a new  country,  has  grown  far 
more  rapidly  than  any  of  the  older  countries  of  Europe. 
The  population  of  the  United  States  is  about  twenty-three 
times  what  it  was  when  the  first  census  was  taken  in  1790. 
It  has  just  about  doubled  within  the  last  thirty  years, 
whereas  the  population  of  England  has  doubled  in  the  past 
sixty  years,  and  that  of  France  has  increased  only  about 
one  third  in  the  past  one  hundred  years.  Since  the  first 
census,  our  population  has  increased  about  one  third  in 
each  decade  from  1790  to  1860,  one  fourth  in  each  decade 
from  1860  to  1890,  and  one  fifth  in  each  of  the  two  decades 
between  1890  and  1910. 


Census  Year 


Population  of  the 
United  States 


1910 

19Q0 

1890 

1880 

1870 

1860 

1850 

1840 

1830 

1820 

1810 

1800 

1790 


91,972,266 

75,994,575 

62,947,714 

50,155,783 

38,558,371 

31,443,321 

23,191,876 

17,069,453 

12,866,020 

9,638,453 

7,239,881 

5,308,483 

3,929,214 


This  table  shows  the  population  of  the  United  States  as  enumerated  at 
each  census  from  1790  to  1910,  inclusive. 


20 


Social  Problems 


The  rate  of  increase  is  much  less  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  United  States  than  in  the  country  as  a whole,  and  much 
more  rapid  in  some  of  the  western  sections.  In  eleven  of 
the  Western  states  the  population  increased  more  than  50 
per  cent  within  the  last  decade,  and  in  three  states,  Wash- 
ington, Oklahoma,  and  Idaho,  the  population  more  than 
doubled.  In  only  one  of  the  states  was  there  any  decrease 
in  the  population.  This  was  in  Iowa,  and  here  the  decrease 
was  practically  insignificant,  or  only  about  one  third  of  one 
per  cent.  The  westward  drift  of  the  people,  and  the  excep- 
tional industrial  development  of  certain  regions  of  the 
West,  account  for  the  much  greater  increase  in  the  Pacific 
and  Mountain  divisions. 

Density.  — The  density  ^ of  a country’s  population  is  of 
even  more  importance  than  the  number  of  people,  for  it 
more  directly  influences  the  social  and  economic  life.  We 
find  the  greatest  difference  in  the  densities  of  the  different 
sections,  which  vary  all  the  way  from  three  people  per 
square  mile  in  the  Mountain  division,  to  one  hundred  and 
ninety-three  in  the  Middle  Atlantic  division;  and  from 
less  than  one  per  square  mile  in  Nevada,  to  five  hundred  and 
eight  in  Rhode  Island.  The  average  for  the  United  States 
as  a whole  is  thirty  and  nine  tenths  per  square  mile.  The 
extent  to  which  our  population  is  concentrated  within  a 
comparatively  small  section  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  nearly 
two  fifths  of  the  total  population  is  found  within  a land  area 
comprising  only  about  one  fourteenth  of  the  entire  country. 
The  increase  in  density  for  the  last  two  decades  has  been 
about  five  per  square  mile  for  each  decade.  Of  the  out- 
lying possessions,  Porto  Rico  has  by  far  the  greatest  density. 
It  is  over  ten  times  that  of  the  United  States  as  a whole, 
and  is  exceeded  only  by  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts, 
and  New  Jersey.  At  the  other  extreme  stands  Alaska, 
with  less  than  one  tenth  of  one  per  square  mile.  The 
density  of  the  population  of  France  is  about  seven  times, 


Population  21 

and  that  of  England  .is  about  twenty  times,  that  of  the 
United  States. 

Another  way  of  indicating  the  density  is  by  the  average 
area  per  inhabitant.  If  in  Rhode  Island  the  land  were  to  be 
divided  equally  among  its  inhabitants,  each  one  could  have 
but  one  and  three  tenths  acres;  whereas  in  Nevada,  a 
similar  division  would  give  each  person  eight  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  acres.  If  the  total  acreage  of  the  United  States 
were  to  be  so  divided,  each  person  would  be  entitled  to  a 
farm  of  twenty  acres.  In  1900,  a similar  division  would  have 
given  to  each  person  twenty-five  acres,  and  in  1890,  thirty 
acres. 

Urban  and  rural.^  — The  extremely  rapid  growth  of  the 
cities  has  undoubtedly  been  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for 
our  failure  in  municipal  government.  Systems  of  water- 
works, of  lighting,  of  transportation,  and  even  forms  of  city 
government  have  been  rapidly  outgrown,  and  have  had  to 
be  replaced  by  new.  The  many  problems  arising  out  of  the 
congestion  of  the  population  in  the  cities  have  been  multi- 
plied through  this  change  from  a population  chiefiy  rural  to 
one  which  is  nearly  one  half  urban.  At  the  time  of  our  first 
census,  in  1790,  only  one  thirtieth  of  the  people  were  living 
in  cities  of  eight  thousand  or  more,  while  at  the  last  census 
nearly  two  fifths  of  the  people  were  in  cities  of  this  size. 

In  its  last  report,  the  Census  Bureau  classifies  as  urban 
that  population  in  cities  or  other  incorporated  places  of 
twenty-five  hundred  or  more.  The  remainder  of  the  terri- 
tory is  classed  as  rural.  On  the  basis  of  this  classification, 
46.3  per  cent  of  the  population  is  urban,  and  53.7  per  cent 
rural.  During  the  past  decade,  the  rate  of  increase  for  the 
urban  population  has  been  more  than  three  times  that  for 
the  rural  population.  The  highest  urban  population  is 
found  in  New  England,  where  four  fifths  of  the  people  live 
in  cities.  More  than  one  fifth  of  the  people  in  the  United 
States  are  living  in  the  fifty  cities  of  over  one  hundred 


22 


Social  Problems 


thousand  inhabitants,  while  nearly  .one  tenth  of  the  total 
population  resides  in  the  three  largest  cities,  New  York, 
Chicago,  and  Philadelphia.  Over  one  twentieth  of  our 
entire  population  is  found  in  New  York  City  alone. 

Distribution  by  natural  features.®  — Drainage.  — The 
three  great  natural  drainage  basins  are  the  Atlantic  slope, 
the  Great  Basin,  and  the  Pacific  slope.  About  95  per 
cent  of  the  inhabitants  live  in  territory  which  is  drained, 
directly  or  indirectly,  into  the  Atlantic.  More  than  one  half 
of  the  population  live  in  the  region  drained  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  about  one  thirty-third  in  that  country  drained 
into  the  Pacific. 

Altitude.  — The  early  settlements  in  this  country  were 
along  the  seacoast,  and  consequently  at  an  altitude  of  only 
a few  feet  above  sea  level.  As  the  population  has  moved 
westward,  the  higher  altitudes  have  become  populated,  and 
the  movement  is  still  toward  regions  of  greater  altitudes. 
By  far  the  greater  population  is  living  between  the  altitudes 
of  one  hundred  and  one  thousand  feet  above  sea  level, 
although  we  find  one  sixth  of  the  entire  population  living  less 
than  one  hundred  feet  above  sea  level.  In  altitudes  above 
one  thousand  feet,  the  population  grows  rapidly  less,  because 
of  the  more  barren  and  sterile  regions.  This  decrease 
continues  until  an  altitude  of  some  five  or  six  thousand  feet 
is  reached,  when  we  find  a slight  increase  because  of  the 
mining  operations  carried  on  in  these  higher  mountain 
sections.  Only  one  one-hundredth  of  the  entire  population 
is  found  above  an  altitude  of  five  thousand  feet. 

Rainfall.  — There  is  a decided  tendency  for  people  to 
gather  within  those  regions  where  the  rainfall  assures  favor- 
able crops.  The  average  rainfall  for  the  entire  United  States 
is  29.6  inches,  but  the  amount  of  rain  varies  in  the  different 
sections  from  none  at  all  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
inches.  Practically  three  quarters  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  live  in  regions  where  the  annual  rainfall  is 


Population 


between  thirty  and  fifty  inches.  As  the  rainfall  becomes 
more  or  less  than  this  amount,  the  population  diminishes 
very  rapidly.  In  the  great  arid  regions  of  the  West,  em- 
bracing two  fifths  of  the  entire  area  of  the  country,  the  rain- 
fall is  less  than  twenty  inches,  and  in  all  this  region  we  find 
but  one  thirty-third  of  the  total  population. 

Temperature.  — The  mean  annual  temperature  of  the 
United  States  is  53  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  we  find  a large 
proportion  of  the  people  hving  in  regions  having  an  average 
near  this.  More  than  three  fifths  of  the  entire  population 
live  in  an  average  temperature  of  between  45  and  55  degrees, 
while  only  one  twenty-fifth  live  within  those  regions  where 
the  temperature  reaches  an  average  of  70  degrees. 

Center  of  population.®  — A careful  distinction  must  be 
drawn  between  the  center  of  population  and  the  median 
point.  The  median  point  is  the  point  of  intersection  of  a 
north  and  south  line  which  equally  divides  the  population, 
with  an  east  and  a west  hne  which  likewise  equally  divides  it. 
The  center  of  population  has  quite  a different  meaning. 
This  is  said  rather  to  represent  the  center  of  gravity  of  the 
population,  and  is  that  point  which  could  be  reached  with  the 
minimum  aggregate  travel  if  all  the  people  in  the  United 
States  were  to  travel  in  direct  lines  to  this  one  point.  From 
this  definition,  it  is  evident  that  any  individual  would  affect 
the  center  in  direct  proportion  to  his  distance  from  it.  In 
determining  the  median  point,  distance  is  not  taken  into 
account.  Any  movement  of  the  population  within  one  of 
the  four  sections  made  by  the  median  lines  would  not  affect 
the  median  point;  while  any  movement  toward  or  away 
from  the  center  of  population  would  have  its  effect  in  chang- 
ing the  location  of  that  center. 

At  the  last  census,  the  center  of  population  was  found 
to  be  at  Bloomington,  Indiana.  During  the  last  decade, 
the  center  of  population  moved  westward  approximately 
thirty-nine  miles,  and  northward  only  seven  tenths  of  a mile. 


24 


Social  Problems 


Center  of  Population,  1790-1910. 


Population 


25 


Since  the  first  census,  when  the  center  of  population  was 
near  Baltimore,  it  has  moved  westward*  five  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  miles,  averaging  a little  more  than  forty-six 
miles  a decade.  In  all  this  movement  westward,  it  has 
followed  very  closely  the  thirty-ninth  parallel. 

The  center  of  area  of  the  United  States  is  in  the  northern 
part  of  Kansas,  near  the  Nebraska  border,  and  midway 
between  the  east  and  west  boundaries  of  the  state.  This 
point  is  657  miles  west  and  51  miles  north  of  the  center  of 
population. 

Race.^  — Of  the  total  number  of  people  in  the  United 
States,  about  nine  tenths  are  white,  and  one  tenth  negro. 
The  other  races  make  up  less  than  one  half  of  one  per  cent 
of  the  population.  The  negro  population,  although  it  has 
increased  steadily,  has  increased  less  rapidly  than  the  white. 
At  the  time  of  the  first  census,  negroes  constituted  a little 
less  than  one  fifth  of  the  total  population.  During  the  past 
decade,  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  whites  has  been  about 
double  that  of  the  negroes.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  immigration  brings  in  white  people  almost  exclu- 
sively. The  negroes  are  largely  congregated  in  the  Southern 
states,  where  they  constitute  about  one  third  of  the  popula- 
tion. In  two  of  the  Southern  states,  Mississippi  and  South 
Carolina,  the  negroes  constitute  more  than  half  of  the  popu- 
lation. In  eighteen  out  of  the  thirty-two  Northern  and 
Western  states,  of  the  total  population  less  than  one  per  cent 
are  negroes. 

i The  total  number  of  Indians  in  the  United  States  is 
265,000.  During  the  past  decade,  the  number  of  Indians  has 
increased  28,000,  — a rate  of  increase  about  one  half  that 
for  the  whites. 

The  number  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  in  the  United  States 
is  approximately  the  same,  there  being  about  72,000  of  each. 
More  than  one  half  of  all  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  in  this 
country  are  found  in  California. 


26 


Social  Problems 


The  Negro  Element  in  our  Population. 


The  Foreign  Element  in  our  Population. 


Population 


27 

Nativity.*  — Of  the  total  population  of  the  United  States 
m 1910,  85.3  per  cent  were  native-born,  and  14.7  per  cent 
were  foreign-born.  Of  the  white  population,  approximately 
83.7  per  cent  are  native-born,  and  16.3  per  cent  are  foreign- 
born.  This  means  that  more  than  one  sixth  of  our  white 
population,  and  more  than  one  seventh  of  our  entire  popu- 
lation, are  foreign-born.  In  order  to  understand  the  racial 
characteristics  of  the  thirteen  million  foreign-born  within 
this  country,  we  must  know  from  what  countries  they  came. 
Germany  has  contributed  much  the  largest  proportion,  or 
about  two  and  a half  million.  This  is  nearly  one  fifth  of  the 
number  of  foreign-born.  Next  in  importance  is  Russia,  then 
Austria-Hungary,  each  contributing  about  one  eighth.  Ire- 
land, Italy,  the  Scandinavian  countries,-  Great  Britain,  and 
Canada  come  next  in  order,  each  contributing  one  tenth. 

Even  more  important  than  this  is  the  change  which  is 
taking  place  with  respect  to  the  countries  from  which  our 
immigrants  are  largely  drawn.*  The  proportion  of  our 
population  which  came  from  northwestern  Europe  declined 
very  materially  during  the  past  decade,  from  67.8  per  cent 
to  49.9  per  cent.  During  the  same  decade,  the  proportion 
from  southeastern  Europe  increased  from  17.7  per  cent  to 
37.4  per  cent,  or  was  more  than  doubled.  Another  way  of 
indicating  this  change  in  the  make-up  of  our  foreign  popula- 
tion is  by  comparing  some  of  the  actual  numbers  from  the 
countries  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the  decade 

Germany,  and 

im A Ireland,  residing  in  the  United  States  in 

1910  than  there  were  in  1900.  During  this  same  period, 
there  was  an  increase  in  numbers  of  1,091,719  among  the 
natives  of  Russia  and  Finland,  of  1,033,593  among  the 

natives  of  Austria-Hungary,  and  of  859,098  among  the  natives 
01  Italy. 

This  striking  change  which  is  taking  place  in  the  elements 
o our  population  is  shown  by  comparing  our  present  popu- 


28 


Social  Problems 


lation  with  that  of  some  two  generations  ago.  In  1850,  the 
countries  of  northwestern  Europe  had  contributed  90  per 
cent  of  our  total  foreign-born  population.  In  1910,  these 
same  countries  had  contributed  less  than  50  per  cent  of  the 
total.  On  the  other  hand,  the  countries  of  southern  and 
eastern  Europe,  which  had  contributed  less  than  one  per 
cent  in  1850,  had  contributed  37.4  per  cent  in  1910.  In 
1850  nearly  seven  eighths  of  our  foreign-born  population  had 


MILLIONS 


come  from  the  three  countries,  Ireland,  Great  Britain,  and 
Germany.  In  1910  but  three  eighths  of  our  foreign-born 
had  come  from  these  countries. 

The  proportion  of  foreign-born  varies  greatly  in  the  differ- 
ent geographic  divisions.  It  is  much  higher  in  the  Northern 
and  Western  than  in  the  Southern  states.  We  find  much  the 
highest  percentage  in  the  New  England  and  Middle  Atlantic 
states,  where  it  is  27.9  per  cent  and  25.1,  respectively.  In 
the  Pacific  states,  it  is  22.8  per  cent,  while  in  the  East  South 
Central  division  it  is  only  one  per  cent.  We  also  find  great 
variations  in  the  different  states,  several  of  the  Southern 
states  having  less  than  one  per  cent  of  foreign-born.  There 
are  three  states  having  more  than  30  per  cent,  Rhode  Island, 
Massachusetts,  and  New  York. 


Population 


29 


A very  decided  tendency  to  gather  in  particular  districts 
is  shown  among  the  foreign-born.  Nearly  two  fifths  of  all 
white  persons  in  the  United  States  having  Austria  as  their 
country  of  origin  are  found  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
More  than  two  fifths  of  those  having  Hungary,  and  nearly 
one  half  of  those  having  Italy  and  Russia  as  their  countries 
of  origin,  are  found  within  these  same  two  states.  Likewise, 
nearly  a fourth  of  the  Irish  live  in  New  York,  more  than  a 
third  of  the  Welsh  in  Pennsylvania,  and  nearly  three  tenths 
of  the  Norwegians  and  about  one  fifth  of  the  Swedes  in 
Minnesota.  Again,  certain  foreign  elements  appear  very 
strong  in  the  population  of  some  particular  states.  For 
example,  more  than  one  fourth  of  the  entire  population  of 
Minnesota  is  Scandinavian,  nearly  one  fifth  is  German,  and 
about  one  third  of  that  of  Wisconsin  is  German. 

The  foreign-born  likewise  have  a marked  tendency  to 
gather  in  urban  communities.  Nearly  three  quarters  of 
those  of  foreign  birth  live  in  the  cities,  and  the  newer  immi- 
grants show  an  even  more  decided  tendency  than  did  the 
former  to  congregate  in  these  urban  centers.  This  may  be 
partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  there  is  now  compara- 
tively httle  conveniently  located  and  fertile  land  available 
for  settlement  or  obtainable  at  a low  price.  New  York 
City  alone  contains  practically  one  seventh  of  the  foreign-born 
population  of  this  country.  Nearly  all  of  our  large  cities, 
excepting  those  of  the  Southern  states,  show  a much  larger 
proportion  of  foreign-born  than  does  the  country  as  a whole. 
Among  those  having  high  percentages  of  foreign-born  are 
Fall  River  (42%),^  Lowell  (40%),  New  York  City  (40%), 
Boston  (36%),  Chicago  (35%),  San  Francisco  (34%),  Min- 
neapolis (28%),  Philadelphia  (24%).^ 

Sex.^^  Somewhat  over  one  half  of  the  estimated  popu- 
lation of  all  the  world  has  been  enumerated  as  to  sex.  The 
results  have  shown  a slight  average  excess  in  the  number  of 
males.  The  distribution  of  sex  in  any  country  is  largely 


30 


Social  Problems 


determined  by  whether  or  not  immigration  or  emigration 
has  been  the  greater.  In  the  newer  countries  of  the  world, 
such  as  Australia,  some  parts  of  Africa,  Canada,  and  the 
United  States,  where  immigration  has  been  comparatively 
large,  the  number  of  males  has  been  considerably  greater 
than  the  number  of  females ; while  in  the  principal  countries 
of  Europe,  where  emigration  has  been  the  larger,  the  number 
of  females  exceeds  the  number  of  males. 

In  the  United  States  there  are  over  two  and  one  half  mil- 
lion more  males  than  females,  the  ratio  being  one  hundred 
and  six  to  one  hundred.  This  excess  is  the  greatest  that 
it  has  ever  been,  and  is  due  to  the  very  large  immigration 
throughout  the  past  decade.  Among  the  foreign-born 
whites  enumerated  in  1910  who  had  arrived  in  the  United 
States  during  the  decade,  there  were  no  less  than  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  males  to  one  hundred  females.  Since  1820, 
the  date  of  our  first  reliable  data,  the  excess  of  males 
has  been  greater  at  each  succeeding  census,  with  one  ex- 
ception. There  was  a decline  in  the  excess  of  males 
during  the  decade  1860-70.  This  is  attributed  to  the  large 
loss  of  life  among  the  men  in  the  Civil  War,  and  to  the  falling 
off  of  immigration  during  this  period.  Among  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese  the  excess  of  males  is  very  great,  and  among 
the  foreign-born  white  the  proportion  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  males  to  one  hundred  females. 

Within  the  United  States  we  find  a great  variation  between 
the  older  Eastern  states  and  the  newer  Western  states.  There 
are  but  five  of  the  states  in  which  there  is  an  excess  of  females, 
these  being  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Maryland,  and 
North  and  South  Carolina,  all  bordering  on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  There  are  three  states  having  a proportion  of  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  males  to  one  hundred  females. 
These  are  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Nevada.  This  great 
variation  within  the  United  States  may  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  more  men  than  women  venture  into  the  newer 


Population 


31 


sections  to  establish  homes.  Mining  and  the  lumber  indus- 
tries of  the  West  are  carried  on  almost  exclusively  by  men. 
More  of  the  women  remain  at  the  old  homes,  and  more 
industries  adapted  to  the  employment  of  women  are  found 
in  the  East  than  in  the  West.  As  the  newer  sections  become 
more  closely  settled,  it  is  probable  that  this  excessive  dis- 
proportion of  the  sexes  will  disappear. 

School  age.^®  — At  the  taking  of  the  last  census,  it  was 
found  that  one  fifth  of  the  total  population  of  the  United 
States  had  attended  school  at  some  time  during  the  pre- 
ceding year.  About  three  fifths  of  all  those  between  the 
ages  of  six  and  twenty  years  are  in  school.  About  one  half 
of  those  six  years  of  age,  also  one  half  of  those  sixteen  years 
of  age,  attend  school  at  some  time  during  the  year.  From 
the  age  of  six  to  eleven,  the  proportion  increases,  until,  at 
this  latter  age,  91  per  cent  is  reached.  From  that  age  the 
proportion  decreases  slowly,  until,  from  sixteen  years  on,  the 
decline  is  very  rapid.  The  highest  proportional  school  at- 
tendance is  found  at  the  ages  of  ten,  eleven,  and  twelve 
years,  but  even  at  these  ages  only  nine  tenths  of  the  chil- 
dren attend  school.  The  rapid  decline  after  fourteen  years 
of  age  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  this  is  the  legal 
age  for  employment  in  many  states.  The  economic  con- 
ditions, as  well  as  the  compulsory  school  laws  of  various 
states,  are  important  factors  in  determining  the  school 
attendance. 

Illiteracy.^^  — The  last  census  classes  as  illiterate  all  per- 
sons unable  to  write,  regardless  of  ability  to  read.  On  this 
basis,  there  were  more  than  five  and  a half  million  illiter- 
ates ten  years  of  age  and  over.  This  means  that  7.7  per  cent 
of  the  population  of  this  age  must  be  classed  as  illiterate. 
This  proportion  is  largely  due  to  the  number  of  negroes  and 
of  foreign-born  within  the  United  States.  The  proportion  of 
native  whites,  is  3 per  cent ; of  the  foreign-born  is  4 times 
this,  or  12  per  cent ; of  the  negroes  is  10  times  this,  or  30 


32 


Social  Problems 


per  cent.  This  high  proportion  among  the  negroes,  how- 
ever, is  declining  very  rapidly.  In  1910  it  was  only  one 
half  of  what  it  was  in  1890.  For  the  past  thirty  years, 
each  successive  census  has  shown  a hopeful  decrease  in  the 
total  number  of  illiterates,  the  proportion  having  decreased 
more  than  one  half  within  that  time. 

In  considering  the  illiteracy  of  the  sexes,  it  is  found  that 
among  the  whites  the  percentage  is  slightly  greater  for  males 
than  for  females.  This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  excess 
in  the  number  of  males  among  our  immigrants.  It  would 
also  seem  to  indicate  a changing  attitude  toward  the  educa- 
tion of  women.  The  proportion  of  illiteracy  in  the  North 
and  in  the  West  is  approximately  the  same,  but  it  is  more 
than  three  times  as  great  in  the  South,  due,  of  course,  to  the 
large  proportion  of  negroes  there. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  make  any  exact  comparison  of 
illiteracy  in  this  country  with  that  in  foreign  countries^® 
because  of  the  different  methods  used  in  estimating  the 
degree  and  the  amount  of  illiteracy.  In  some  countries  the 
only  basis  of  calculation  is  the  number  of  men  and  women 
who  cannot  sign  the  marriage  register.  In  others,  the 
estimate  is  made  on  the  basis  of  the  reading  ability  of  the 
army  recruits.  In  some  of  the  European  countries  illiteracy 
is  so  uncommon  that  questions  regarding  it  are  not  included 
in  the  census  enumeration.  A great  difference  is  found  in 
the  degree  of  illiteracy  among  the  people  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  Europe,  and  in  the  eastern  and  southern  parts. 
The  lowest  percentage  is  found  among  the  German  and 
Scandinavian  peoples,  while  the  highest  percentage  is  found 
in  Spain  and  Portugal  in  the  southwest,  and  in  Russia  in  the 
east.  In  Germany,  Denmark,  and  Sweden,  the  illiteracy 
as  based  on  the  proportion  in  the  army  recruits  is  less  than 
one  half  of  one  per  cent.  About  one  fourth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  Austria,  one  half  that  of  Spain,  and  nearly  three 
fourths  of  that  of  Russia  are  classed  as  illiterate.  More  than 


Population  33 

three  fourths  of  the  population  of  Mexico  are  also  in  this 
class. 

Voting  strength.^®  — It  is  impossible  to  determine  the 
exact  voting  strength  of  the  people  within  the  United  States 
because  of  the  varying  laws  regarding  suffrage.  The  num- 
ber of  those  of  voting  age,  that  is,  of  those  who  are  twenty- 
one  years  and  over,  represents  a little  more  than  one  half  of 
the  total  population  of  the  country,  or  56  per  cent.  Of 
this  group,  the  men  exceed  the  women  in  number  by 
about  two  and  a half  million.  Of  the  twenty-seven  million 
men  of  voting  age,  nearly  one  fourth  are  foreign-born  whites, 
and  less  than  one  half  of  these  have  become  naturalized. 

In  nine  of  our  largest  cities,  including  New  York  and 
Chicago,  the  foreign-born  whites  constitute  more  than  one 
half  of  the  population  of  voting  age.  About  one  twelfth 
of  the  males  of  voting  age  are  illiterate.  Our  laws  are 
written  in  English,  yet  we  find  that  more  than  one  fifth  of 
our  foreign-born  of  voting  age  are  unable  even  to  speak 
Enghsh.  When  we  consider  that  our  government  is  based 
on  the  principle  of  universal  manhood  suffrage,  we  can  at 
once  see  the  significance  of  these  items. 

Potential  militia.^^  — In  estimating  the  fighting  strength 
of  a country  in  case  of  war,  about  the  only  basis  we  have  is 
the  number  of  male  citizens  in  the  country  from  the  age  of 
eighteen  to  forty-four,  inclusive.  This  is  the  age  of  militia 
duty  under  the  laws  of  most  of  the  states.  The  total  number 
of  males  coming  within  this  age  is  about  twenty  million,  or  a 
httle  more  than  one  fifth  of  the  total  population  of  the 
country.  The  strength  of  our  organized  militia  is  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand.  The  peace  strength 
of  Germany  is  ordinarily  about  seven  times  this  number. 

Estimates  of  the  population.  — Although  the  federal 
census  is  taken  but  once  in  ten  years,  many  other 
statistics  are  collected  yearly.  Our  population  is  growing 
so  rapidly  that  per  capita  averages  for  years  other  than  the 

D 


34 


Social  Problems 


census  year  would  be  of  little  value  if  we  did  not  take  into 
account  this  rate  of  growth.  For  this  purpose,  the  Bureau 
of  the  Census  has  been  directed  by  Congress  to  prepare 
estimates  of  the  population  for  the  intercensal  periods. 
These  estimates  are  based  on  the  rate  of  growth  throughout 
the  preceding  decade,  together  with  such  information  as  may 
be  supplied  by  city  officials  and  postmasters  in  regard  to 
changes  made  in  city  boundaries,  and  estimates  of  the 
population  of  these  annexed  and  detached  territories. 

The  last  bulletin  on  “ Estimates  of  Population  ” esti- 
mates the  population  of  Continental  United  States  for 
July  1,  1916,  at  approximately  one  hundred  two  million ; and 
the  total  population  of  the  United  States  at  one  hundred 
twelve  million. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  was  the  population  of  the  United  States  at  the  time 
of  the  last  census  ? How  does  this  compare  with  that  of  some  of  the 
other  principal  countries  ? 

2.  Tell  about  the  rate  of  increase  of  our  population. 

3.  Tell  about  the  density  of  our  population.  How  does  this 
compare  with  that  of  France  and  of  England  ? 

Where  is  the  most  of  our  population  found  as  regards  alti- 
tude? 

5.  How  does  the  rainfall  vary  in  the  different  sections  of  the 
country?  How  does  this  affect  the  population? 

6.  What  is  the  mean  annual  temperature  of  the  United  States  ? 
What  proportion  of  the  people  live  in  regions  having  a temperature 
near  this  average  ? 

7.  Explain  “ the  center  of  population  ” ; the  “ median  point.” 
Describe  the  movement  of  the  center  of  population. 

8.  What  races  are  found  in  the  United  States  ? In  what  num- 
bers ? 

9.  Give  some  of  the  principal  facts  in  regard  to  the  nativity 
of  our  population. 

10.  How  does  the  proportion  of  the  foreign-born  vary  in  different 
parts  of  the  United  States? 

11.  What  two  marked  tendencies  are  shown,  by  our  foreign- 
born  ? 


Population 


35 


12.  Hotv  many  more  males  than  females  are  there  in  the  United 
States?  Why  this  excess?  How  does  the  ratio  vary  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  ? 

13.  About  what  proportion  of  our  population  attend  school 
at  some  time  during  the  year?  What  proportion  of  the  various 
ages  from  six  to  twenty  attend  school  ? 

14.  What  is  the  extent  of  illiteracy  in  this  country?  Where  is 
it  greatest  ? Why  ? 

15.  What  is  said  ’of  our  voting  strength?  Of  our  potential 
militia  ? 

16.  What  was  the  estimated  population  of  the  United  States 
for  July  1,  1916? 

REFERENCES 

1.  Census,  1910,  abstract,  p.  22. 

2.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  22. 

3.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  pp.  44-7. 

4.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  pp.  53-79. 

5.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  pp.  27-32. 

6.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  pp.  45-9. 

7.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  pp.  126-8. 

8.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  129. 

9.  Census,  1910,  Vol,  I,  Population,  p.  783. 

10.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  899. 

11.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  826. 

12.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  247. 

13.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  pp.  1097-9. 

14.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  pp.  1186-94. 

15.  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  Article  on  “Illiteracy.” 

16.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  1033. 

17.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  1064. 

18.  Census  Bulletin,  Estimated  Population  of  the  United  States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population. 

Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Chs.  II,  III,  and  IV. 

EUwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  Ch.  IX. 
Leroy-Beaulieu,  The  United  States  in  the  Twentieth  Century,  Part  I. 
Seligman,  Principles  of  Economics,  Ch.  IV. 

Bailey,  Modern  Social  Conditions,  Ch.  VI. 


CHAPTER  III 


IMMIGRATION 

I.  History  and  extent  of  immigration. 

II.  Earlier  versus  present  immigration. 

1.  The  “old”  and  “new”  by  nationalities. 

2.  Comparison  of  the  “old”  with  the  “new”  type  of  im- 

migrant. 

III.  Distribution  of  the  immigrants. 

1.  Tendency  to  congest  already  overcrowded  sections. 

2.  Associations  to  aid  the  immigrant. 

IV.  Causes  of  immigration. 

V.  Effects  of  immigration. 

1.  Industrial. 

2.  Social. 

3.  Political. 

VI.  Restrictions  on  immigration. 

1.  Resume  of  present  restrictions. 

2.  Present  demands  for  further  restrictions. 

3.  Arguments  against  further  restriction. 

4.  Arguments  for  further  restriction. 

VII.  Oriental  immigration. 

1.  Chinese. 

2.  Japanese. 

3.  Hindu. 

In  the  last  chapter,  the  population  of  the  United  States  as 
it  was  at  the  time  of  the  last  census  was  considered,  and  some 
of  the  more  important  facts  in  regard  to  the  numbers, 
nationality,  location,  and  character  of  that  population  were 
presented.  This  chapter  deals  more  particularly  with  that 
large  element  which  has  come,  and  is  coming,  from  other 
countries ; the  numbers  who  have  come  at  successive  periods, 
the  countries  from  which  they  have  come,  the  causes  that 

36 


Immigration 


37 


induced  them  to  leave  their  homes,  their  influence  upon  social 
and  economic  conditions,  and,  finally,  the  various  restrictive 
measures  looking  toward  the  more  complete  control  of 
immigration. 

History  and  extent  of  immigration.  — As  was  stated  in 
the  last  chapter,  more  than  one  seventh  of  our  present  popu- 
lation is  foreign-born.  This  proportion  has  remained  very 
nearly  constant  for  several  decades,  notwithstanding  the 
great  increase  in  actual  numbers  within  the  past  few  years. 
The  total  immigration^  into  the  United  States  from  all 
countries  during  the  past  ninety-five  years,  or  since  foreigners 
first  began  coming  to  this  country  in  large  numbers  about 
1820,  is  about  32,000,000.  For  the  years  before  1820  no 
exact  figures  are  obtainable,  but  it  is  estimated  that  the 
total  number  of  arrivals  from  1776  to  1820  was  approxi- 
mately 250,000.  Beginning  in  the  year  1820,  with  about 
8000,  the  number  increased  very  gradually,  not  reaching 
100,000  in  any  year  until  1842.  The  number  then  began  to 
increase  rapidly,  going  above  400,000  in  1854.  Again  there 
was  a marked  dechne,  which  dropped  as  low  as  72,000  in 
1862.  The  increase  since  that  time  has  been  by  successive 
waves,  which  fluctuate  from  year  to  year,  but  show  a de- 
cided tendency  toward  a general  increase  for  several  years, 
and  then  a decrease  for  several  years.  These  waves  follow 
very  closely  the  period  of  depression  and  prosperity  within 
this  country.  During  the  past  ten  years,  the  number  has 
greatly  exceeded  that  of  any  other  decade,  and  has  averaged 
nearly  a million  a year.  The  greatest  number  was  reached 
in  1907,  when  the  total  was  1,285,349.  Not  all  of  these 
immigrants,  however,  make  their  homes  permanently  in  the 
United  States.  For  the  last  several  years,  about  one  third 
of  the  immigrants  have  returned  to  their  own  countries,  after 
having  worked  here  for  a comparatively  short  time.^ 

The  first  people  to  come  in  large  numbers  were  the  Irish, 
beginning  in  the  year  1848.  This  was  due  to  the  potato 


38 


Social  Problems 


famine  in  Ireland.  During  the  first  three  decades,  from 
1820  to  1850,  their  number  was  in  excess  of  that  of  any  other 
nationality.  Since  then,  the  proportion  of  Irish  has  fallen 
off  decidedly.  The  people  from  Germany  were  the  next  to 
come  in  large  numbers.  Between  1850  and  1860,  their 
number  exceeded  that  of  the  Irish,  and  it  reached  its  highest 
point  from  1880  to  1890,  when  28  per  cent  of  the  total  im- 
migration for  the  decade  was  from  Germany.  The  Scandi- 
navian immigration  was  greatest  also  from  1880  to  1890, 
since  which  time  the  number  of  Scandinavians  entering  this 
country  has  declined.  The  immigration  from  the  Nether- 
lands, France,  and  Switzerland,  though  comparatively  unim- 
portant, has  fluctuated  but  little  throughout  the  last  few 
decades.  Immigration  from  Italy,  Austria-Hungary,  and 
Russia  first  became  important  about  1898,  and  since  then 
the  numbers  from  each  of  these  latter  countries  have  in- 
creased very  rapidly. 

Earlier  versus  present  immigration.  — The  “ old  ” and  the 

new  ” by  nationalities.  — Quite  as  great  a change  has 
taken  place  in  the  character  of  the  recent  immigration  as 
in  the  extent,  and  this  change  in  character  has  undoubtedly 
a greater  social  significance  than  the  rise  in  numbers.  It 
has  been  so  marked  that  Jenks  and  Lauck^  speak  of  the 
immigration  before  1883  as  the  “ old  immigration  ’’  and  of 
that  since,  as  the  “ new  immigration.”  The  old  immigra- 
tion was  almost  exclusively  from  northwestern  Europe,  and 
included  people  from  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  Belgium, 
Switzerland,  France,  Germany,  and  the  Scandinavian  coun- 
tries. The  new  immigration  is  from  southern  and  eastern 
Europe,  and  includes  the  immigration  from  Austria-Hun- 
gary, Bulgaria,  Greece,  Italy,  Montenegro,  Poland,  Portugal, 
Roumania,  Russia,  Servia,  Spain,  Syria,  and  Turkey. 

Before  1883,  these  countries  of  northwestern  Europe 
furnished  some  95  per  cent  of  the  total  number  coming 
to  this  country.  In  1914,  or  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the 


Immigration 


39 


great  war,  these  same  countries  furnished  but  15  per  cent  of 
our  entire  immigration,  while  the  countries  from  southern 
and  eastern  Europe  gave  us  about  75  per  cent.  In  other 
words,  during  this  last  year  there  have  been  practically  five 
times  as  many  of  the  new  as  of  the  old  type  of  immigrant, 
and  Italy  alone  has  furnished  almost  one  and  one  half  times 
as  many  as  did  all  of  the  northwestern  countries  taken  to- 
gether. 

Comparison  of  the  “ old  ” .with  the  new  ’’  type  of  immigrant. 
— The ‘real  significance  of  this  change  from  the  old  to  the 
new  immigration  can  be  seen  only  by  comparing  the 
types  of  immigrants  brought  in  by  each.  The  people 
brought  in  by  the  old  immigration  more  nearly  resembled 
the  people  already  here,  since  many  of  them  came  from  the 
same  countries  as  did  our  ancestors  only  a few  generations 
earlier.  This  immigration  was  exclusively  Celtic  and 
Teutonic,  whereas  the  new  immigration  is  largely  Latin  and 
Slavic.  The  old  had  k similar  language,  similar  religious 
beliefs,  and  much  the  same  ideals  of  government  as  the 
Americans,  and  their  customs,  habits,  and  modes  of  thought 
were  similar  to  those  in  this  country.  The  old  type  of  immi- 
grant had  made  distinct  progress  toward  self-government, 
while  the  new,  which  comes  from  the  monarchic  centers 
of  Europe,  has  made  but  little  progress  toward  any  form  of 
democratic  government,  and  has  but  a slight  conception  of 
the  principles  underlying  such  a government. 

Likewise  in  the  industrial  world  the  new  immigrant  has 
not  made  the  advance  that  the  old  had  made.  His  standard 
of  living  is  lower,  and  he  seems  not  so  well  qualified  to  be- 
come an  employer  as  an  employee.  Among  the  old  immi- 
grants the  number  of  professional  and  skilled  laborers  was 
more  than  double  what  it  is  among  the  new ; while  the  pro- 
portion of  common  laborers  is  more  than  double  in  the  new 
immigration  what  it  was  in  the  old.  Those  of  the  older 
type  show  a more  decided  tendency  to  remain  here.  The 


40 


Social  Problems 


number  departing,  for  every  one  hundred  admitted,  is  more 
than  twice  as  great  among  the  new  as  among  the  old  immi- 
grants. 

Illiteracy  ^ is  very  much  greater  among  the  peoples  of  the 
new  immigration  than  among  those  of  the  old,  it  being  35.6 
per  cent  for  the  new,  as  compared  with  2.7  per  cent  among 
the  old.  The  disproportion  of  the  sexes  is  larger  among  the 
new.  We  find  less  than  one  and  one  half  times  as  many 
men  as  women  among  those  from  Great  Britain,  France, 
Germany,  and  the  Scandinavian  countries,  while  among  the 
Italians^  we  find  more  than  three  times  as  many  men  as 
women,  and  among  the  Russians  nearly  eight  times  as  many. 
Such  a disproportion  as  this  does  not  tend  to  the  highest 
type  of  family  life. 

The  percentage  of  those  becoming  naturalized  from 
northwestern  Europe  ranged  from  43  per  cent  of  those 
from  Belgium,  to  69  per  cent  from  Germany.  This  is 
much  higher  than  the  per  cent  of  immigrants  becoming 
naturalized  from  southern  and  eastern  Europe,  the  lat- 
ter ranging  from  only  4.7  per  cent  for  natives  of  Bulgaria 
and  Servia,  to  30  per  cent  for  natives  of  Finland.  From 
the  foregoing  analysis,  we  see  that  the  problem  of  the  as- 
similation of  the  immigrant  is  much  more  complex  to-day 
than  it  has  ever  been  before. 

Distribution  of  the  immigrants.®  — Tendency  to  congest 
already  overcrowded  sections.  — The  tendency  of  immigrants 
to  congregate  in  the  already  overcrowded  sections  of  the 
country  increases  the  complexity  of  our  immigration  prob- 
lem. Could  they  be  wisely  distributed  throughout  the 
country,  many  of  the  evils  growing  out  of  the  present  ex- 
cessive immigration  would  be  remedied.  The  new  immi- 
grants, in  particular,  have  shown  themselves  to  be  more 
clannish,  and  come  less  inclined  to  learn  the  language  and 
customs  of  the  country,  and  vdthout  the  initiative  or  the 
money  to  take  them  into  the  more  remote  western  or  southern 


Immigration 


41 


sections.  They  show  a decided  tendency  to  gather  in  the 
North  Atlantic  and  North  Central  states,  and  within  the 
larger  cities  of  these  states.  Of  the  immigrants  coming 
here  in  1913,  more  than  three  fifths  located  in  the  four 
states,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Illi- 
nois. This  tendency  to  congregate  in  cities  is  indicated  by 
the  last  census,  which  shows  that  nearly  three  fourths  of 
all  the  foreign-born  within  the  United  States  were  living 
in  urban  communities.'^ 

Their  coming  in  such  large  numbers  and  settling  in  the 
communities  where  there  are  already  great  groups  of  foreign- 
born,  increases  the  difficulty  of  assimilation.  The  newly 
arrived  immigrant  goes  to  these  districts  densely  populated 
by  his  own  countrymen,  where  he  hears  his  own  language, 
and  where  the  customs  and  habits  of  his  home  prevail,  and 
the  process  of  Americanization  is  materially  hindered. 

Associations  to  aid  the  immigrants.  — A number  of  as- 
sociations, and  also  some  of  the  state  governments,  have 
attempted  to  aid  the  new  immigrant  in  various  ways,  to 
acquaint  him  with  conditions  here,  and  assist  him  in  finding 
suitable  locations.  The  Federal  government  established  a 
Division  of  Information  in  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  in 
1907.  This  is  to  furnish  information  concerning  conditions 
in  different  sections  of  the  country,  so  that  the  immigrant 
may  more  intelligently  choose  his  location.  Although  these 
various  associations  have  undoubtedly  been  of  great  value, 
they  have  been  utterly  unable  to  cope  with  the  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  that  have  come  from  year  to  year,  or  to  com- 
pete with  the  influence  exerted  by  relatives  and  friends  who 
are  already  located  here.  It  is  estimated  that  about  97  per 
cent  of  the  immigrants  have  decided  upon  their  destina- 
tions before  reaching  this  country.* 

Causes  of  immigration.®  — The  causes  which  have  led 
some  thirty  millions  of  people  to  seek  our  shores  have  been 
many  and  varied.  Although  varying  factors  have  entered; 


42 


Social  Problems 


in  at  different  times,  the  great  underlying  cause  of  a large 
proportion  of  the  immigration  has  been  the  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  immigrants  to  better  their  economic  condition. 
One  evidence  of  this  is  the  remarkable  way  that  the  line  show- 
ing the  decrease  and  increase  in  the  number  of  immigrants 
follows  the  line  showing  the  periods  of  economic  depression 
and  economic  prosperity  within  the  country. 

Economic  distress  in  the  home  countries  has  sent  many 
immigrants  to  America.  At  the  time  of  the  potato  famine 
in  Ireland,  between  1847  and  1854,  a great  wave  of  Irish 
immigration  swept  over  to  America,  bringing  nearly  1,200,000 
people.  A large  number  of  Germans  who  came  here  about 
the  year  1853  came  because  of  the  economic  distress  in  their 
own  country.  Recently  there  have  been  few  violent  or  last- 
ing periods  of  want  in  the  European  countries,  hence  this 
cause  has  not  been  so  important  as  it  was  formerly. 

Closely  connected  with  this,  however,  is  the  low  money 
wage  prevalent  in  southern  and  eastern  Europe.  The  peas- 
ants there  are  not  so  prosperous  as  are  our  farmers,  and 
a crop  failure  means  semi-starvation.  Emigration  comes  as 
a welcome  release.  Their  standard  of  living  is  not  high,  and 
they  can  live  much  better  on  the  higher  wages  paid  in  the 
United  States,  even  though  it  does  cost  relatively  more  to 
live.  Land  in  Europe  is  not  easily  acquired,  and  Europeans 
have  been  greatly  attracted  by  the  vast  areas  of  uncultivated 
land  to  be  had  in  the  United  States  almost  for  the  asking. 

In  early  times,  people  left  Europe  for  America  in  order  to 
escape  political  and  religious  persecution.  This  was  the 
reason  in  the  first  place  for  the  colonization  of  the  United 
States,  and  until  the  present  time  it  has  not  ceased  to  be  of 
importance.  Roman  Catholics,  Jews,  Quakers,  Scotch- 
Irish,  Russians,  and  Poles  have  at  different  times  come  to 
this  country  as  a refuge.  Many  Russian- Jews  have  fled 
to  America  to  escape  the  persecutions  of  the  Russian 
authorities. 


Immigration  43 

The  desire  to  evade  a long  periled  of  service  in  the  armies 
of  their  countries  has  led  many  strong  European  youths  to 
spend  the  years  of  their  greatest  power  in  America.  Many 
of  the  young  men  of  these  countries  are  unwilling  to  suffer 
the  loss  of  their  best  years,  even  though  it  be  in  the  service 
of  their  fatherland. 

The  ease  of  transportation  has  been  an  important  factor  in 
inducing  immigration  in  recent  years.  Because  they  can 
make  the  ocean  trip  safely,  and  quickly,  and  cheaply,  many 
immigrants,  less  self-reliant  and  hardy  than  their  predeces- 
sors, have  recently  flocked  to  our  shores.  Steamship  com- 
panies, anxious  to  secure  passengers,  have  agents  in  the 
different  countries,  soliciting  immigration,  often  unlawfully. 

Until  recent  times,  American  employers,  eager  to  increase 
the  labor  supply,  have  contracted  with  great  numbers  of  men 
in  the  old  countries,  agreeing  to  advance  them  money  to 
pay  for  their  passage  in  return  for  their  labor  after  reaching 
here.  This  system  was  evil  in  its  results  and  is  now  carefully 
guarded  against  by  law.  As  has  been  said  by  Professor 
Commons,^^  desire  to  get  cheap  labor,  to  take  the  pas- 
senger fares,  and  to  sell  land,  have  probably  brought  more 
immigrants  to  this  country  than  the  hard  conditions  of 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  have  sent. 

Letters  from  friends  and  relatives  who  have  preceded  them 
into  the  “ land  of  great  opportunity  ” have  an  especial 
charm,  and  appeal  to  those  who  are  thinking  of  coming  here. 
Statistics  show  that  for  the  three  years  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  European  war  over  a third  of  the  immigrants  had  their 
passage  paid  wholly,  or  at  least  in  part,  by  relatives  and 
friends.^^  Also  when  the  prosperous  immigrant  returns  to 
his  own  country  with  glowing  tales  of  American  people  and 
American  money,  and  gives  his  countrymen  apparent  proof 
of  his  statements  by  his  own  lavishness,  they,  in  turn,  are 
stirred  to  try  their  fortunes  in  this  wonderful  land. 

To  the  foregoing  reasons  may  be  added  the  attitude  that 


44 


Social  Problems 


the  United  States  has  taken  in  the  past.  At  various  times 
the  United  States,  and  also  certain  states,  have  not  only 
shown  no  hostility  to  the  immigrant  but  have  actually  en- 
couraged immigration.  The  liberality  of  our  land  policy 
is  an  evidence  of  this.  Our  tariff  policy,  too,  has  tended 
to  increase  immigration  in  that  it  has  increased  the  demand 
for  unskilled  labor. 

Although  each  of  these  causes  has  been  responsible  for 
bringing  in  certain  numbers  of  people,  the  economic  reasons 
have  probably  been  the  underlying  ones,  and  are  at  the  pres- 
ent time  the  most  important.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Immi- 
gration Commission,^^  the  immigrants  have  come  here,  not 
so  much  to  escape  conditions  that  are  intolerable  in  their  own 
lands,  as  to  look  for  improved  economic  conditions  in  this. 

Effects  of  immigration.  — Industrial.  — The  most  serious 
phase  of  the  whole  problem  of  immigration  is  the  effect  that 
the  introduction  of  such  a large  element  of  low  grade,  un- 
skilled workers,  of  lower  standards  of  life,  must  have  in  com- 
petition with  the  class  of  workers  already  established  here. 
The  new  immigrants,  in  particular,  in  contrast  with  those 
of  an  earlier  date,  have  been  accustomed  to  lower  standards 
in  their  home  countries ; they  are  less  resourceful,  and  a 
larger  proportion  of  them  are  unfamiliar  with  the  English 
language.  They  are  therefore  handicapped  in  their  efforts 
to  make  a living.  It  is  more  difficult  to  organize  them  into 
trade  unions,  hence  we  find  them  less  able  to  effectively  de- 
mand a higher  wage.  Their  underbidding  in  the  labor 
market  tends  to  bring  other  classes  down  to  their  standards. 
While  it  is  true  that  they  do  supply  a very  large  number  of 
unskilled  workers,  and  that  this  cheap  labor  does  encourage  a 
greater  division  of  labor  and  thus  helps  to  develop  industry,^® 
it  is  also  true  that  an  abundance  of  cheap  labor  tends  to  re- 
tard inventions  and  the  use  of  new  machines  and  new  pro- 
cesses in  industry. 

The  competition  has  been  keener  in  those  industries  em- 


Immigration 


45 


ploying  large  numbers  of  unskilled  workers,  and  conse- 
quently has  affected  our  unskilled  laborers  more  than  the 
skilled.  Such  a large  number  of  unskilled,  unorganized 
laborers,  accustomed  to  live  on  much  less  than  the  American 
laborer,  and  ever  ready  to  take  a lower  wage,  is  a constant 
handicap  to  the  American  wage  earner  in  his  struggle  to  im- 
prove his  condition.  A large  number,  having  no  family  de- 
pendent upon  them,  and  intending  to  remain  here  but  a 
short  time,  can  work  under  conditions  which  would  be  im- 
possible for  the  American  workingman;  and  everything 
which  tends  to  lower  the  standard  of  life  of  a group  of  people 
affects  the  social  conditions  of  the  entire  community. 

Social.  — The  fact  that  for  some  years  past  nearly  two 
thirds  of  all  the  immigrants  have  been  males,  has  its  social 
effect  in  those  communities  where  immigrants  tend  to  con- 
gregate in  the  largest  numbers.  This  means  that  many  of 
those  coming  here  have  not  the  stabilizing  influence  of  family 
life.  An  increasing  number,  not  looking  forward  to  the 
establishing  of  homes  here,  make  less  effort  to  become  familiar 
with  our  language  and  our  institutions. 

The  Immigration  Commission,  after  making  an  exhaustive 
study  of  the  relation  between  immigration  and  crime,  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  “ no  satisfactory  evidence  has  yet 
been  produced  to  show  that  immigration  has  resulted  in  an 
increase  in  crime  disproportionate  to  the  increase  in  adult 
population.’’ However,  their  statistics  do  indicate  that 
the  American-born  children  of  immigrants  exceed  the  chil- 
dren of  native  Americans  in  relative  amount  of  crime.  This 
is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  immigrants  are  found  in  great 
numbers  in  the  cities,  and  the  criminality  of  their  children 
is  a product  of  the  congested  city  conditions.  Proof  is  lent 
to  this  statement  by  the  fact  that  a ‘‘  majority  of  juvenile 
delinquents  are  found  in  the  North  Atlantic  states,  where 
immigrants  form  a larger  proportion  of  the  population  than 
in  any  other  section  of  the  country.” 


46 


Social  Problems 


The  number  of  paupers  in  almshouses  shows  a larger 
proportion  of  foreign-born  than  of  native  whites.  Also  the 
statistics  of  charity  organization  societies  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  a larger  proportion  of  the  foreign-born  than 
of  the  native  white  apply  for  charity  in  one  way  or  another. 
The  recent  more  stringent  immigration  laws  are  excluding 
a much  larger  proportion  of  those  who  are  likely  to  become 
public  charges,  and  with  the  careful  enforcement  of  the  laws 
it  is  probable  that  the  number  assisted  will  be  less  than  it 
has  been  before.  The  Immigration  Commission,  after  a 
study  of  relief  in  forty-three  of  our  principal  cities,  reached 
the  conclusion  ‘‘  that  only  a very  small  percentage  of  the 
immigrants  now  arriving  apply  for  relief.”^® 

The  percentage  of  foreign-born  among  the  insane  is  some- 
what greater  than  the  percentage  bf  native  whites.  Certain 
races  show  a greater  tendency  toward  insanity  than  others. 
With  the  greater  care  that  is  now  being  taken  against  admit- 
ting any  who  show  or  have  shown  any  evidences  of  insanity, 
it  is  possible  that  this  disproportion  may  be  diminished. 

We  are  thus  unable  to  prove  that  the  immigrant  is  in- 
creasing the  number  of  criminals  in  the  country,  that  he  is 
adding  greatly  to  the  number  of  the  insane,  or  that  he  is 
materially  increasing  the  burden  from  the  dependent  classes. 
Nor  have  we  any  conclusive  proof  that  the  new  immigrant  is 
affecting  these  problems  more  seriously  than  the  old.  The 
most  serious  social  phase  of  the  new  immigration  is  the  in- 
creasing disproportion  between  the  sexes,  the  extent  to 
which  the  new  immigration  increases  illiteracy,  and  the 
increasing  difficulties  of  Americanizing  such  a very  large 
number  of  so  diverse  peoples.  The  very  fact  of  their  num- 
bers and  of  their  diversity  ihakes  more  difficult  their  social 
assimilation.  This  is  increased  because  of  their  clannish- 
ness, which  tends  to  keep  them  separate  and  distinct  from 
the  rest  of  the  Americans,  and  to  preserve  their  own  lan- 
guage, customs,  and  ideals. 


Immigration 


47 


Another  social  effect,  more  particularly  of  the  new  im- 
migration, is  the  widening  of  class  distinctions.  The  in- 
troduction of  a large  number  of  low-grade  industrial  workers, 
without  efficient  organization,  furnishes  a class  which  is 
easily  exploited  by  the  American  employer.  They  work 
long  hours,  and  for  low  wages.  As  a result  of  this  exploi- 
tation, we  have  the  few  exceedingly  rich,  and  the  many  who 
are  very  poor.  This  tends  to  widen  the  social  gap  between 
the  employer  and  the  employee,  and  accentuates  the  class 
distinctions  which  have  become  so  important  a phase  of  mod- 
ern industry. 

Political.  — There  came  to  our  shores  in  1913  approxi- 
mately 270,000  people,  fourteen  years  of  age  and  over,  who 
could  neither  read  nor  write. A very  large  proportion  of 
these  came  from  countries  where  ideals  entirely  different  from 
those  predominating  here  prevail  in  regard  to  government. 
Many  of  them  had  the  duties  of  citizenship  thrust  upon  them 
almost  immediately.  They  have  no  conception  of  a demo- 
cratic form  of  government.  In  this  countrj^  the  administra- 
tion of  the  initiative,  referendum,  and  recall,  and  the  duty  of 
electing  representatives  and  officials,  place  on  the  immigrants 
responsibilities  which  they  are  not  qualified  to  assume. 

Legislation  to-day  is  largely  social  legislation,  and  has  to 
do  with  the  bettering  of  social  conditions.  An  effort  is  now 
being  made  to  better  the  conditions  for  the  workingman 
through  such  legislation  as  the  “ Minimum  Wage  ” and  other 
industrial  measures ; to  lessen  the  evils  resulting  from 
child  labor;  and  to  carry  out  policies  of  conservation. 
Another  important  question  now  confronting  us  is  that  of 
temperance.  The  presence  in  our  population  of  such  a 
large  group  with  such  dissimilar  ideals,  and  with  but  the 
slightest  understanding  of  actual  conditions  here,  cannot 
but  add  to  the  complexity  of  each  one  of  these  problems, 
and  help  to  defer  their  solution.  It  is  not  that  the  new 
immigrants  are  more  corrupt  than  the  native-born.^®  In 


48 


Social  Problems 


fact,  some  of  the  recent  disclosures  of  corruption  in  our 
country,  such  as  those  made  by  Steffens  in  certain  sections 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Ohio,  show  that  the  foreign-born  were 
a comparatively  minor  element. 

They  do  furnish  large  numbers  who  are  easily  controlled 
by  the  industrial  and  political  boss.  It  is  not  that  the  for- 
eigner sells  his  vote  outright,  but  he  is  not  qualified  to 
vote  intelligently  on  the  questions,  and  because  of  his  de- 
pendence upon  some  man  versed  in  politics,  skilled  in  winning 
confidences  and  in  dispensing  advice,  he  often  becomes  the 
tool  of  the  ward  politician.  This  is  particularly  true  in  our 
large  cities,  where  we  find  so  many  of  the  foreign-born. 

Another  difficulty  in  getting  combined  action  is  the  lack 
of  a class  consciousness.  Where  we  have  such  a variety  of 
elements  all  thrown  in  together,  there  are  bound  to  be  race 
antagonisms  which  prevent  that  close  cooperation  which  is 
necessary  to  secure  social  results. 

Restrictions  on  immigration.  — Resume  of  present  re- 
strictions. — Legislation  affecting  immigration  has  been 
passing  through  successive  stages  of  development  for  a period 
of  nearly  a hundred  years.  Through  the  early  part  of  the 
century,  the  individual  states  had  sole  control  of  the  ques- 
tion. The  first  national  legislation  was  the  law  of  1819, 
and  this  was  an  attempt  to  better  the  conditions  of  travel 
for  the  steerage  passengers.  The  first  provision  for  the 
keeping  of  statistics  was  made  at  this  time.  For  the  next  fifty 
years  the  agitation  against  immigration  was  kept  up,  and 
several  associations  were  formed,  and  several  movements, 
such  as  the  “ Native  American  ” and  the  “ Know-Nothing  ” 
were  set  on  foot,  primarily  to  oppose  the  coming  of  the 
foreigner  to  our  shores.  A number  of  the  states  passed 
restrictive  legislation  during  this  period,  but  these  laws  were 
later  declared  uiMSCnstitutional.  The  national  legislation  of 
1862  was  an  Emergency  Act  passed  during  the  war,  to  en- 
courage immigration. 


Immigration 


49 


The  first  classes  to  be  definitely  excluded  by  national 
legislation  were  convicts  and  immoral  women.  This  was  in 
1875,  and  marks  the  beginning  of  a series  of  restrictive  acts. 
The  first  general  immigration  law,  attempting  definite  con- 
trol over  immigration  by  the  Federal  government,  was 
passed  in  1882.  This  act  levied  a head  tax  of  fifty  cents  on 
all  aliens  landing  at  the  United  States  ports,  and  added  to 
the  other  excluded  classes,  lunatics,  idiots,  and  other  persons 
likely  to  become  public  charges.  About  this  time  the 
various  labor  organizations  began  to  protest  vigorously 
against  the  increasing  competition  of  the  foreign  laborer. 
As  a result  of  their  protests.  Congress  passed  laws  in  1885, 
and  further  amended  and  strengthened  these  in  1888,  ex- 
cluding contract  laborers.  Since  that  time  — notably  in 
1891,  1903,  1907,  and  1910  — other  laws  have  been  passed, 
all  of  them  aiming  to  restrict  immigration  still  further. 
The  office  of  Superintendent  of  Immigration  was  created 
in  1891,  and  the  head  tax  was  raised  successively  from  fifty 
cents  to  one  dollar,  to  two  dollars,  and  finally  to  four  dollars, 
the  amount  at  the  present  time.  These  laws  have  increased 
the  number  of  inspectors,  have  made  further  provision  for 
the  detention  of  those  suspected  to  be  undesirable,  and  have 
increased  the  liabilities  of  the  steamship  companies  bring- 
ing in  undesirable  aliens. 

The  act  of  March  4,  1913,^2  provides  that  the  following 
classes  of  aliens  shall  be  excluded  from  admission  into  the 
United  States:  idiots,  imbeciles,  feeble-minded,  epileptics, 
insane  persons,  or  persons  who  have  been  insane  within  five 
years  previously  or  have  had  two  or  more  attacks  of  insanity 
at  any  time  previously;  paupers,  professional  beggars,  or 
persons  likely  to  become  public  charges ; persons  afflicted 
with  tuberculosis,  or  with  a loathsome  or  dangerous  conta- 
gious disease ; persons  who  have  been  convicted  of,  or  admit 
having  committed,  a felon}^  or  other  crime  or  misdemeanor 
involving  moral  turpitude ; polygamists,  or  persons  who 

E 


50 


Social  Problems 


admit  their  belief  in  the  practice  of  polygamy;  anarchists, 
or  persons  who  advocate  the  overthrow  of  government  by 
force  or  violence ; persons  entering  the  United  States,  or 
attempting  to  bring  in  other  persons,  for  immoral  purposes ; 
contract  laborers;  persons  assisted  in  coming  by  others, 
unless  it  be  shown  that  such  persons  do  not  belong  to  the 
excluded  classes,  and  that  their  ticket  was  not  paid  for  by 
any  corporation,  association,  society,  municipality,  or  gov- 
ernment ; children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  unaccompanied 
by  one  or  both  parents  (at  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of 
Labor). 

The  same  law  states  that  nothing  in  the  act  shall  exclude, 
if  otherwise  admissible,  persons  convicted  of  an  offense  purely 
political,  not  involving  moral  turpitude;  aliens  in  con- 
tinuous transit  through  the  United  States  to  foreign  terri- 
tory ; skilled  labor,  if  labor  of  like  kind  unemployed  cannot 
be  found  in  this  country ; actors ; artists ; lecturers ; sing- 
ers ; ministers ; professors ; persons  belonging  to  any 
recognized  learned  profession,  or  persons  employed  strictly 
as  domestic  or  personal  servants. 

Provision  is  made  that  all  aliens  brought  to  this  country 
in  violation  of  law,  shall,  if  practicable,  immediately  be  sent 
back  to  the  country  whence  they  came,  on  the  vessel  bring- 
ing them.  The  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  such  persons  on 
land,  as  well  as  the  expense  of  their  return,  is  to  be  borne  by 
the  owners  of  the  vessels  on  which  they  came.  Should  a 
person  become  a public  charge  from  causes  existing  prior 
to  his  landing,  he  may  be  deported  at  any  time  wdthin  three 
years  after  the  date  of  his  entering  this  country,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  steamship  company.  During  the  year  1913, 
approximately  20,000  aliens  were  excluded  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  immigration  law,  and  over  three  thousand 
aliens  who  were  found  to  be  here  in  violation  of  the  law  were 
deported.  In  commenting  on  this  number,  the  recent  Com- 
missioner General  of  Immigration  says  that  “ the  present 


Immigration 


51 


law  has  but  little  effect  in  redjicing  or  checking  the  influx  of 
aliens.”  ^ These  successive  acts  have  been  directed  pri- 
marily against  the  physically,  mentally,  and  morally  diseased, 
the  aim  being  to  protect  American  citizens  from  such 
classes. 

Present  demands  for  further  restrictions.^  — The  agita- 
tion at  the  present  time  for  further  restriction  is  prompted 
by  the  desire  to  limit  further  the  numbers  of  those  coming 
here,  more  particularly  the  large  number  of  those  having 
lower  standards  of  life,  who,  therefore,  tend  to  come  into 
keen  competition  with  the  American  workingman.  The 
principal  suggestions  now  being  made  for  further  restrictions 
are : the  exclusion  of  those  unable  to  read  and  write  in  some 
language;  the  limitation  of  the  number  of  immigrants  en- 
tering from  any  country  in  any  one  year  to  10  per  cent  of 
the  people  here  from  that  country  at  the  time  of  the  pre- 
ceding census ; the  exclusion  of  unskilled  laborers  unaccom- 
panied by  wives  or  families ; a substantial  amount  of  money 
required  to  be  in  the  possession  of  the  immigrant  on  his 
arrival ; the  material  increase  of  the  head  tax. 

The  first  suggestion,  the  literacy  test,  has  been  incorpo- 
rated in  three  bills,  but  one  was  vetoed  by  President  Cleve- 
land, one  by  President  Taft,  and  the  latest  one  by  President 
Wilson.  The  principal  argument  for  the  literacy  test  is 
that  it  may  be  readily  applied  at  the  foreign  ports  before 
sailing,  and  that  it  would  exclude  a very  large  number  from 
the  more  undesirable  races.  Those  who  oppose  this  test 
maintain  that  this  would  exclude  many  who  might  later 
make  most  desirable  citizens,  and  that  it  would  not  reach 
some  of  the  most  undesirable  classes  such  as  criminals,  an- 
archists, and  immoral  persons.  Practically  all  are  agreed 
on  the  desirability  of  excluding  those  who  are  likely  to 
become  dependents,  defectives,  or  delinquents,  but  there 
is  great  diversity  of  opinion  regarding  the  admission  of 
other  classes. 


52 


Social  Problems 


Arguments  against  further  restrictions.  — The  principal 
arguments  against  further  restriction  are  that  we  still  have 
great  undeveloped  resources  in  this  country,  in  the  develop- 
ment of  which  the  immigrant  can  be  effectively  employed; 
and  that  we  are  rapidly  growing  as  an  industrial  nation, 
and  hence  have  a greater  demand  for  more  labor.  The 
lower  grade  laborer  from  other  countries  will  take  the  more 
poorly  paid  occupations  which  the  American  laborer  does 
not  want.  His  coming  makes  possible  a greater  division  of 
labor,  and  this  favors  the  most  advantageous  use  of  labor. 
The  mingling  with  other  races  will  bring  in  new  blood,  and 
will  be  racially  advantageous.  The  new  immigrant  is  more 
emotional,  and  has  a keener  appreciation  for  art  and  music, 
and  so  brings  a most  desirable  attribute  into  our  population. 
The  intermingling  of  peoples  of  various  standards  and  of 
different  civilizations  is  broadening  and  mutually  advan- 
tageous. If  our  civilization  is  more  advanced,  the  many 
people  from  other  countries  who  return  in  after  years  to 
their  countries  cannot  help  buf  take  back  with  them  new 
ideas,  new  customs,  and  new  habits  of  thought.  Granted 
that  we  are  blessed  in  so  many  ways,  is  it  not  extremely 
selfish  for  us  to  exclude  the  foreigner  from  sharing  in  these 
benefits  ? Instead  of  being  fearful  of  the  immigrant  coming 
in  and  lowering  our  standards,  should  we  not  rather  wel- 
come him  to  a share  in  our  prosperity? 

Arguments  for  further  restrictions.  — Although  we  have 
eliminated  some  of  the  most  undesirable  features  of  exces- 
sive immigration,  foreigners  are  still  coming  in  such  over- 
whelming numbers  as  to  make  assimilation  almost  impos- 
sible. Such  a large  number,  with  lower  standards  of  living, 
must  necessarily  lower  the  standard  of  living  of  the  Ameri- 
can workingman.  A large  amount  of  cheap  labor  tends  to 
retard  the  development  of  new  machinery  and  new  pro- 
cesses in  industry.  Such  great  numbers,  and  such  diverse 
peoples,  add  much  to  the  complexity  of  our  present-day 


Immigration 


S3 


social  and  political  problems.  Immigration  reduces  the 
native  birth  rate,  while  at  the  same  time  we  have  no  evi- 
dence that  the  large  emigration  decreases  the  population  in 
the  congested  portions  of  the  old  world.  It  introduces  a 
large  number  who  are  unacquainted  vdth  our  political  and 
social  ideals.  It  increases  the  amount  ^of  unorganized 
labor  and  so  weakens  the  effectiveness  of  labor  unions. 
The  many  immigrants  tend  to  widen  the  gap  between  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  and  thus  to  make  more  marked  the  class 
distinctions.  We  have  had  greater  opportunities  and  have 
made  greater  advance  along  certain  lines,  notably  in  the 
development  of  democratic  institutions,  and  in  moral  and 
religious  ideals.  May  we  not  prove  to  be  more  helpful  to 
other  peoples  by  jealously  guarding  American  institutions 
and  American  ideals,  and  thus  serve  as  a model  to  the  op- 
pressed of  other  lands?  Would  not  the  ultimate  benefits 
to  these  people  be  greater  this  way,  than  by  permitting  the 
few  to  come  here  and  enjoy  our  prosperity  for  the  time 
being,  with  the  probable  result  of  checking  our  advance,  if 
not  of  lowering  our  standards  and  our  ideals  to  those  of  the 
peoples  of  southern  and  eastern  Europe? 

Oriental  immigration.^®  — All  the  arguments  against 
immigration  apply  with  increased  force  against  oriental 
immigration.  The  orientals  not  only  have  lower  standards  of 
living,  but  they  also  so  materially  differ  from  the  American 
people  in  language,  religion,  and  customs,  as  to  constitute 
an  entirely  new  problem.  While  many  of  the  European  races 
present  problems  of  assimilation,  the  oriental  has  such  dif- 
ferent racial  characteristics,  as  to  be  quite  impossible  of  as- 
similation. The  fear  is  that  should  we  permit  the  Asiatics 
to  come  here  as  freely  as  we  permit  other  races,  we  would 
soon  have  on  our  hands  a Japanese  problem  and  a Chinese 
problem,  quite  as  serious  as  our  present-day  Negro  problem. 

The  Chinese  began  coming  to  this  country  about  the  time 
of  the  rush  to  California  for  gold,  in  the  early  fifties.  A 


54 


Social  Problems 


number  of  them  engaged  in  gold  mining,  others  in  railway 
construction  work,  gardening,  laundering,  and  domestic 
service.  To-day  a number  are  found  in  agriculture,  in  the 
salmon  canneries,  in  laundries ; and  as  small  merchants  and 
restaurant  keepers.  They  are  becoming  steadily  a less 
important  factor  in  industry  because  of  their  decreasing 
numbers,  and  also  because  of  their  being  crowded  out  of 
some  of  their  former  occupations  by  the  Japanese.  The 
number'  of  Chinese  in  the  country  increased  very  rapidly  up 
to  the  time  of  the  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  in  1882.  It  is 
estimated  that  at  that  time  there  were  130^000  here.  Since 
this  act  went  into  effect,  the  number  has  decreased  quite  as 
rapidly,  until  now  there  are  about  72,000.  The  Chinese 
Exclusion  Act  of  1882  was  the  most  radicahy  restrictive  act 
that  Congress  has  ever  passed.  This  excluded  all  Chinese 
laborers.  The  only  classes  exempted  from  these  restrictions 
are  teachers,  students,  travelers,  merchants,  the  wives  and 
minor  children  of  these ; officials  of  the  Chinese  government 
together  with  their  servants ; Chinese  living  here,  who  may 
be  granted  certificates  entitling  them  to  return  to  the  United 
States ; and  Chinese  who  were  born  in  this  country. 

The  Japanese  did  not  attempt  coming  here  to  any  great 
extent  until  about  1898.  In  1890  there  were  only  about 
2000.  The  number  had  increased  to  24,000  by  1900,  and 
to  72,000  in  1910.  This  number  is  approximately  the  same 
as  the  number  of  Chinese  in  the  country.  Many  Japanese 
have  engaged  in  various  agricultural  pursuits.  Some  are 
employed  as  section  hands  on  the  railways,  while  others 
work  in  the  canneries,  in  the  lumber  mills  and  logging  camps, 
and  as  servants. 

Although  formerly  the  attitude  was  more  friendly  toward 
the  Japanese  than  the  Chinese,  since  they  have  been  coming 
in  greater  numbers,  this  kindly  attitude,  or  at  least  this 
attitude  of  indifference  toward  the  Japanese,  has  been 
turning  to  one  of  hostility.  In  the  western  sections,  where 


Immigration 


55 


both  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  are  found  in  the  greatest 
numbers,  it  is  felt  that  the  Chinese  are  more  trustworthy  in. 
keeping  their  contracts,  and  in  doing  their  work  with  care ; 
while  the  Japanese  are  much  more  aggressive,  are  more  in- 
clined to  push  themselves  forward  as  regards  wages  or  social 
position,  and  show  a much  stronger  inclination  to  become 
land  owners  and  proprietors.  At  the  present  time,  the  race 
antagonism  is  considerably  more  bitter  against  the  Japanese 
than  against  the  Chinese,  and  has  caused  serious  race  con- 
flicts, especially  in  California. 

The  Japanese  laborers  are  now  excluded  from  coming  to 
the  United  States  through  an  understanding  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  Japan  that  passports  to  laborers  shall  not  be 
granted.  Also,  by  the  act  of  1907,  the  President  was  given 
authority  to  deny  admission  to  this  country  to  foreign  labor- 
ers who  had  been  granted  a passport  to  some  other  country 
if  their  coming  here  would  be  to  the  detriment  of  labor 
conditions. 

Although  the  number  of  Hindus  in  this  country  is  not 
yet  sufficiently  great  to  cause  us  serious  alarm,  it  is  increas- 
ing. These  people  are  generally  considered  less  desirable 
than  the  Chinese  or  Japanese,  and  because  of  the  troubles 
that  are  arising  with  these  other  races,  there  is  more  of  an 
inclination  to  work  against  the  possibilities  of  a Hindu 
problem  by  restricting  their  coming  before  they  immigrate  to 
any  great  extent.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  five  thousand 
Hindus  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time.  The 
percentage  of  illiteracy  is  greater  among  the  Hindus  than  in 
any  other  immigrant  race,  and  their  standard  of  living  is 
lower.  They  are  more  caste-ridden,  mingle  less  with  other 
people  than  do  any  other  races,  and  are  found  almost  ex- 
clusively in  the  ranks  of  the  lowest  grade  of  unskilled 
laborers. 


56 


Social  Problems 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  has  been  the  total  immigration  into  the  United  States  ? 
Give  a brief  summary  of  immigration. 

2.  At  what  periods  did  the  several  principal  nationahties  come 
in  large  numbers  ? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  the  “ old  ” and  the  “ new  ” immigra- 
tion ? 

4.  Compare  the  “ old  ” with  the  “ new  ” type  of  immigrant 
and  explain  the  real  significance  of  this  change. 

5.  In  the  distribution  of  immigrants  what  tendency  is  shown? 
What . significance  has  this  tendency? 

6.  What  is  being  done  to  aid  the  immigrant  ? 

7.  What  have  been  the  principal  causes  of  our  large  immigra- 
tion? 

8.  What  have  been  the  industrial  effects  of  immigration  ? The 
principal  social  effects  ? 

9.  This  large  number  of  immigrants  has  what  effect  on  our 
political  life? 

10.  What  restrictions  have  been  placed  upon  immigration? 

11.  Which  were  the  first  classes  to  be  restricted ? When? 

12.  What  are  the  principal  demands  at  the  present  time  for 
further  restrictions  ? 

13.  Summarize  the  arguments  for  and  against  further  restrictions. 

14.  What  new  phase  of  the  problem  is  presented  by  oriental 
immigration  ? 

15.  Tell  about  Chinese  immigration.  Japanese.  Hindu. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 
p.  105. 

2.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 
p.  93. 

3.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  The  Immigration  Problem,  p.  25. 

4.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  p.  34. 

5.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 
p.  46. 

6.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  Ch.  XIV. 

7.  Census,  1910,  Vol.  I,  Population,  p.  817. 

8.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  p.  28. 

9.  Warne,  The  Immigrant  Invasion,  p.  48. 


Immigration 


57 


10.  Carlton,  The  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  p.  324. 

11.  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  71. 

12.  Carlton,  p.  327. 

13.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 

p.  7. 

14.  Warne,  pp.  35-6. 

15.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  p.  11. 

16.  Carlton,  p.  335. 

17.  Report  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  Vol.  XXXVI,  p.  1. 

18.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  p.  50. 

19.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 

p.  7. 

20.  Carlton,  p.  345. 

21.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  Ch.  XVI. 

22.  Bureau  of  Immigration,  Report  on  Immigration  Laws. 

23.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 
p.  259. 

24.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  Ch.  XVII. 

25.  Jenks  and  Lauck,  Ch.  XIII. 

26.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  1913, 

p.  228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Reports  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  XLII  volumes. 

Brief  Statement  of  the  Conclusions  and  Recommendations  of  the 
Immigration  Commission,  Senate  Document  783,  61st  Congress. 
Jenks  and  Lauck,  T/ie  Immigration  Problem,  the  gist  of  the  informa- 
tion collected  from  the  above  XLII  volumes,  put  in  readable 
and  usable  shape. 

Ross,  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  the  best  and  most  readable  recent 
work  on  immigration.  Of  particular  value  are  the  chapters 
on  “Economic  Consequences”  and  “Social  Effects”  of  immi- 
gration. 

Warne,  The  Immigrant  Invasion. 

Steiner,  The  Trail  of  the  Immigrant. 

Mayo-Smith,  Emigration  and  Immigration. 

Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration. 
Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Ch.  III. 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Ch.  XI. 

Ellwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  Ch.  X. 

Reports,  Committee  for  Immigrants  in  America,  95  Madison  Ave., 
New  York  City. 


Social  Problems 


S8 

Haworth,  America  in  Ferment,  Ch.  IV. 

Publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration,  Department  of  Labor. 
Hunter,  Poverty,  Ch.  VI. 

Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Ch.  VII. 

Antin,  The  Promised  Land. 

Steiner,  The  Immigrant  Tide  — Its  Ebb  and  Flow. 

Addams,  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace,  Ch.  III. 


CHAPTER  IV 


CHILD  LABOR 

I.  Introduction, 

II.  History  of  child  labor. 

1.  In  England. 

2.  In  the  United  States. 

III.  Extent  of  child  labor  in  the  United  States. 

IV.  Causes  of  child  labor. 

1.  Poverty. 

2.  Policies  of  employers. 

3.  Newer  methods  in  industry. 

4.  Conditions  in  schools. 

5.  Public  indifference. 

V.  Effects  of  child  labor. 

1.  Health. 

2.  Literacy. 

3.  Wages. 

4.  Efficiency. 

5.  Home  and  morals. 

6.  Citizenship. 

VI.  Prevention  of  child  labor. 

1.  Investigation  and  education. 

2,  Legislative  measures. 

(а)  Direct. 

(б)  Indirect. 

(c)  Proposed  minimum  provisions  of  a good  child  labor 
law. 

VII.  Child  idleness. 


Introduction.  — A few  decades  ago,  nearly  all  of  the  work 
that  was  done  by  children  was  done  in  and  about  the  home, 
and  by  children  working  with  their  parents.  Where  home 
conditions  were  satisfactory,  such  labor  was  not  necessarily 
harmful  to  the  child  or  to  society.  In  this  way  many  chil- 
dren not  only  learned  how  to  do  a great  many  things,  but  also 

59 


6o 


Social  Problems 


formed  habits  of  industry  and  of  application.  As  industry 
has  been  taken  out  of  the  homes  and  centered  in  factory, 
mill,  and  mine,  a great  change  has  taken  place  in  the  char- 
acter of  child  labor.  Instead  of  a helper  and  learner,  the 
child  has  now  become  a wage-earner.  Instead  of  working 
with  and  for  the  parent,  the  child  now  works  for  a stranger, 
who  too  often  is  but  little  concerned  in  his  welfare,  and  is 
primarily  interested  in  the  profits  to  be  made  from  his  labor. 
As  a, result  of  these  changing  conditions,  we  now  have  nearly 
two  million  children  engaged  in  the  various  industries  in  the 
United  States. 

As  the  children  are  thus  brought  into  the  industrial  life 
they  are  young,  immature,  and  have  but  little  power  of 
resistance.  Lined  up  against  them  are  the  great  powerful 
industrial  concerns,  greedy  for  gain,  and  keenly  athirst  for 
every  unit  of  labor  at  the  cheapest  possible  price.  Many 
of  these  children  are  employed  for  long  hours,  and  under 
conditions  which  are  a serious  menace  to  their  physical  and 
moral  well-being. 

History  of  child  labor.  — In  England.^  ^ — A little  more 
than  a century  ago.  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  some  of  the  other 
great  humanitarian  leaders  in  England  became  aroused  to 
the  terrible  conditions  under  which  children  were  employed, 
particularly  in  the  cotton  factories.  Such  factories  had  but 
recently  been  established,  and  as  they  relied  mainly  upon 
water  power  they  were  located  along  streams,  often  quite 
remote  from  the  more  populous  centers.  The  new  mechan- 
ical inventions  of  this  period  made  possible  the  employment 
of  young  children,  and  to  secure  such  labor ‘the  factory  owners 
went  to  the  orphan  asylums.  Large  numbers  of  orphans 
were  ‘‘  bound  out  ” to  the  employers  for  a period  of  years. 
These  pauper  apprentices,  some  of  them  not  more  than  five 
or  six  years  of  age,  were  housed  in  great  barrack-like  build- 
ings, were  often  compelled  to  work  twelve,  fourteen,  and  even 
sixteen  hours  a day,  underfed  and  underclothed,  and  in 


At  Woek  in  the  Cotton  Mills. 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  or  lUINOIS 


Child  Labor 


6i 


factories  where  little  attention  was  given  either  to  their 
health  or  to  their  morals.  Accidents  were  numerous  and  the 
ranks  of  these  puny  laborers  were  decimated  by  disease. 

Such  conditions  as  these  eventually  attracted  public 
notice.  The  Board  of  Health  of  Manchester  in  1796  called 
attention  to  the  effect  upon  the  children  of  unhealthful 
conditions,  night  work,  and  long  hours,  and  also  to  the  effect 
that  a continuance  of  such  exploitation  of  childhood  must 
have  upon  life  and  industry  in  future  years.  After  consider- 
able agitation  the  first  legislation  looking  to  the  protection 
of  the  child  worker  was  passed.  This  first  factory  act  was 
passed  in  1802.  Its  aim  was  to  protect  the  health  and  the 
morals  of  the  pauper  children  in  the  cotton  factories.  It 
prohibited  night  work,  and  -limited  the  hours  of  labor  to 
twelve  per  day.  Although  the  law  was  of  little  effect,  be- 
cause of  inadequate  provisions  for  its  enforcement,  it  is 
of  importance  as  marking  the  beginning  of  a series  of  factory 
acts  extending  down  through  the  century. 

After  some  years  of  agitation  in  which  Robert  Owen,  him- 
self a mill  owner  and  employer  of  children,  took  a leading 
part,  a second  factory  act  was  passed  in  1819.  Like  the 
first  act  this  one  applied  only  to  the  cotton  mills,  but  its 
provisions  applied  not  only  to  the  pauper  apprentice  but  to 
other  children  as  well.  Children  under  nine  years  of  age 
were  prohibited  from  working  in  these  mills,  and  children 
under  sixteen  were  not  to  be  employed  more  than  twelve 
hours  per  day.  The  next  important  legislation  was  in  1833, 
when  these  provisions  were  extended  to  all  textile  mills. 
The  hours  of  labor  of  children  from  nine  to  thirteen  years 
of  age  were  limited  to  eight,  and  of  children  from  thirteen 
to  eighteen  years  of  age  to  twelve  hours  a day.  An  im- 
portant new  provision  of  this  law  was  that  providing  for 
factory  inspection  with  the  power  to  enforce  the  laws. 

Shortly  after  this,  attention  was  called  to  the  wretched 
conditions  under  which  women  and  children  were  working  in 


62 


Social  Problems 


the  underground  mines.  A report  by  a committee  in  1842 
showed  that  not  infrequently  children  began  working  in  the 
mines  at  the  early  age  of  five.  As  a result  of  the  disclos- 
ures made,  a law  was  passed  prohibiting  the  employment 
of  women  and  children  in  the  underground  mines.  The 
Seventh  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  known  as  “ The  Workingman^s 
Friend,’’  was  one  of  those  most  instrumental  in  making  these 
disclosures  and  in  securing  legislation  in  the  interest  of  the 
workers.  He  “ made  numerous  personal  investigations 
of  factories  and  factory  life,  and  his  revelations  caused  all 
England  to  shudder.”  In  1844,  a half-time  system  for 
children  was  enacted.  This  restricted  the  labor  of  children 
under  thirteen  years  of  age  to  half  time;  and  in  1848  the 
work  of  all  children  under  eighteen  years  of  age  was  limited  to 
a working  day  of  ten  hours. ^ 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  century  various  laws  were 
passed,  gradually  limiting  the  age  of  child  workers,  and 
bettering  the  conditions  under  which  they  could  be  em- 
ployed. Laws  were  passed  limiting  the  hours  of  labor, 
providing  a minimum  age  and  a minimum  amount  of  school- 
ing, requiring  that  dangerous  machinery  be  properly  guarded, 
and  requiring  better  sanitary  conditions  in  the  factories. 

In  the  United  States.^  — Child  labor  did  not  become  an 
acute  problem  in  the  United  States  until  some  years  later 
than  it  did  in  England.  The  factory  system  did  not  develop 
in  this  country  as  early  as  it  did  there,  and  consequently 
there  was  not  the  demand  for  the  factory  child  laborer  that 
there  was  in  England.  Nor  was  there  the  large  number  of 
pauper  children  here  readily  available  for  such  work  that 
there  was  in  England.  The  mines  also  were  not  developed 
until  some  time  later  than  in  England,  and  then  women  and 
children  were  not  employed  in  them  as  they  were  there.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  century  we  were  primarily  an  agricul- 
tural people ; and  in  the  slower  development  of  our  factory 
system  we  were  able  to  profit  by  the  experiences  of  England, 


Child  Labor 


63 


and  thus  to  protect  ourselves  against  some  of  the  evils  which 
accompanied  the  introduction  of  the  system  in  that  country. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  past  century,  however, 
people  began  to  awaken  to  the  possible  dangers  to  the  children 
of  beginning  work  in  the  factories  at  too  early  an  age.  A 
committee  of  the  state  legislature  of  Massachusetts  ® in  1825 
investigated  some  of  the  larger  factories  and  reported  finding 
over  nine  hundred  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  most 
of  them  working  from  twelve  to  thirteen  hours  a day.  Dur- 
ing the  next  fifty  years,  as  the  textile  .industries  were  de- 
veloped, an  increasing  number  of  children  was  employed 
in  the  factories.  By  1870  the  number  of  children  from  ten 
to  fifteen  years  of  age  employed  in  the  manufacturing  estab- 
hshments  alone  had  passed  the  one  hundred  thousand  mark, 
while  the  total  number  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  ex- 
ceeded 700,000.  From  that  time  down  to  the  present  there 
has  been  a constant  increase  in  the  number  of  children 
employed,  although  owing  to  the  gradual  extension  of 
restrictive  legislation,  the  number  in  proportion  to  the  total 
number  of  wage-earners  is  beginning  to  show  a slight  decrease. 

The  first  legislation  in  the  United  States  looking  particu- 
larly to  the  care  of  the  child  laborers  was  enacted  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  1836.^  This  was  very  limited  in  character  and 
referred  merely  to  the  amount  of  instruction  that  the  children 
should  receive  who  were  employed  in  the  manufacturing 
establishments.  Eight  years  later,  the  same  state  limited 
the  number  of  hours  that  children  under  twelve  years  of 
age  could  be  employed  to  ten ’per  day.  Ten  years  later,  in 
1852,  Ohio  passed  her  first  child  labor  law,  to  be  followed  some 
twenty-five  years  later  by  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  with 
similar  laws.  The  first  really  comprehensive  child  labor 
laws  were  the  acts  passed  by  Massachusetts  in  1866  and 
1867.  These  acts  prohibited  the  employment  of  children 
under  ten  years  of  age  in  rpanufacturing  estabhshments, 
limited  the  hours  of  those  under  fifteen  to  ten  per  day,  and 


64 


Social  Problems 


further  provided  that  all  wage-earning  children  from  ten 
to  fifteen  years  of  age  should. have  at  least  three  months’ 
schooling  each  year.  Another  very  important  feature  of 
this  act  was  the  provision  for  factory  inspectors  who  should 
make  regular  reports  to  the  governor,  and  the  providing 
of  penalties  for  any  violations  of  the  acts,  two  very  necessary 
adjuncts  to  any  effective  labor  legislation.  Other  states 
have  gradually  taken  up  the  question  of  looking  after  the 
welfare  of  their  child  workers,  until  now  every  state  has  at 
least  some  restriction  on  the  employment  of  children.® 
Extent  of  child  labor  in  the  United  States.  — There  are 
about  two  million  child  laborers  in  the  United  States  to-day.^ 
This  means  that  more  than  one  out  of  every  six  children  from 
ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age  are  engaged  in  some  form  of  gainful 
work.  Of  this  total  number,  nearly  one  half  are  under 
fourteen  years  of  age.  Although  there  is  no  state  that  has 
no  child  labor,  the  amount  varies  greatly  in  the  different 
states.  In  four  — Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
and  Massachusetts  — less  than  one  per  cent  of  the  children 
from  ten  to  thirteen  years  of  age  were  found  to  be  at  work, 
while  in  some  of  the  Southern  states  — Mississippi,  Alabama, 
and  South  Carolina  — nearly  one  half  of  aU  the  children  of 
this  age  were  classed  as  wage-earners.® 

Of  the  total  number  of  children  employed,  nearly  three 
fourths  are  engaged  in  some  form  of  agricultural  work, 
while  a httle  more  than  one  fourth  are  to  be  found  in  other 
industries.®  Of  this  latter  number,  about  18,000  are  found 
in  the  mines  and  quarries,  and  80,000  are  found  in  the  textile 
industries.  The  danger  in  child  labor  is  often  not  recog- 
nized because  of  the  large  proportion  engaged  in  agriculture, 
which  is  considered  one  of  the  more  healthful  occupations. 
Under  this  heading,  however,  are  included  the  children 
found  working  in  the  cranberry  bogs,  in  the  berry  patches 
and  vegetable  gardens,  and  also  in  the  canneries.  Children 
employed  in  this  kind  of  work  often  labor  under  conditions 


Child  Labor 


65 


which  are  worse  than  those  found  in  the  factories.  Some  of 
the  school  principals  in  Philadelphia,  from  which  city  great 
numbers  of  children  migrate  to  the  fruit  and  vegetable  dis- 
tricts to  aid  in  gathering  the  crops,  have  testified  that  “ the 
children  who  returned  from  the  country  after  the  berry  pick- 
ing and  canning  season  were  in  a most  deplorable  condition, 
morally,  physically,  and  intellectually,  due  to  improper 
food,  poor  housing,  and  want  of  supervision.” 

Causes  of  child  labor.  — Poverty.  — Poverty  resulting 
from  inability,  indifference,  laziness,  or  the  shirking  of  re- 
sponsibility by  the  head  of  the  household,  has  brought  re- 
sponsibility prematurely  upon  that  household’s  younger 
members.  This  lack  of  those  things  which  are  necessary  to 
the  sustaining  of  life,  of  those  ihings  which  make  boys  and 
girls  happy  at  home,  or  at  least  decently  fed  and  clothed, 
accounts  for  a large  number  of  the  child  laborers  in  the  United 
States  to-day.  Where  the  family  is  in  extreme  poverty, 
where  the  wages  of  the  head  of  the  house  can  supply  but 
the  barest  necessities  of  life,  it  is  a great  temptation  to  add 
to  these  meager  earnings  even  the  few  cents  a child  can 
earn  in  a day. 

However,  poverty  is  often  the  excuse  for,  rather  than  the 
cause  of,  child  labor.  Some  of  the  most  pathetic  statements 
regarding  the  dependence  of  the  poor  widow  upon  the  earnings 
of  children  have  been  made  by  those  employers  who  hope  to 
profit  by  the  exploiting  of  such  labor.  Careful  investigations 
have  been  made  of  a large  number  of  cases  where  it  was  main- 
tained that  the  families  could  not  do  without  the  labor  of  their 
children,  and  in  three  fourths  of  all  the  cases  investigated,  it 
was  found  that  there  was  no  real  need  for  such  labor.^^ 

Policies  of  employers.  — The  origin  of  child  labor  grew 
out  of  the  sordid  desire  of  employers  to  secure  labor  at  the 
lowest  possible  cost  regardless  of  the  law  of  nature  or  of 
man.”  Certain  employers  seem  to  have  but  the  one 
policy,  anything  for  gain.  Children  work  cheaply;  they 


66 


Social  Problems 


have  no  unions  and  thus  are  not  able  to  bargain  advanta- 
geously for  their  labor;  and  their  work  is  seemingly  very 
profitable  to  an  employer.  The  president  of  the  United 
Textile  Workers  has  said  that  child  labor  is  employed  simply 
because  it  is  cheap  and  unresisting.^^ 

The  factories  are  often  owned  by  great  corporations,  the 
stockholders  of  which  do  not  know  who  is  employed,  or 
the  conditions  under  which  the  laborers  work.  The  stock- 
holder’s immediate  concern  is  dividends,  and  that  overseer 
can  demand  the  highest  salary  who  can  secure  the  greatest 
profits.  The  financial  return,  rather  than  the  welfare  of  the 
workers,  is  his  greatest  concern.  Some  employers  are  well 
aware  of  these  conditions,  but  are  so  blinded  by  their  eager 
desire  for  high  profits  that  these  wrongs  to  childhood  make 
no  appeal  to  them.  Other  employers  permit  these  wrongs 
to  continue  because  of  their  indifference  or  their  criminal 
negligence. 

Newer  methods  in  industry.  — With  the  introduction  of  the 
factory  system,  where  it  became  necessary  for  large  numbers 
of  families  to  gather  in  close  proximity  to  the  mill  or  factory, 
it  was  soon  recognized  that  in  the  children  of  these  families 
was  an  available  labor  supply  which  could  be  used  with  profit. 
In  order  to  utilize  this  cheaper  labor,  special  energy  was 
directed  to  the  invention  of  such  machinery  as  could  be 
tended  by  mere  children,  machinery  which  had  only  to  be 
stopped  and  started,  or  fed  and  relieved  of  its  burden.  Where 
children  have,  been  prohibited  from  employment,  energy 
has  been  directed  to  the  invention  of  such  machines  as  will  do 
the  work  formerly  done  by  the  child. 

The  division  of  labor  has  divided  all  industries  into  many 
processes,  the  simpler  of  which  can  be  done  by  children. 
The  growth  of  the  market  gardening  business  and  the  re- 
moval of  the  canning  industry  from  the  home  to  the  factory 
have  given  rise  to  a great  demand  for  child  labor  to  gather 
berries,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  and  for  work  in  the  canneries. 


Child  Labor 


67 


Conditions  in  schools.  — The  compulsory  education  laws 
of  our  country  are  inadequate.  They  must  be  so,  or  we 
would  not  have  the  enormous  number  of  nearly  two  million 
child  laborers  in  the  United  States.  There  are  several  of 
our  states  which  have  no  compulsory  school  attendance 
laws.^^  In  Maine  the  children  are  required  to  attend 
school  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  there  only  1.7  per  cent  of 
those  between  ten  and  thirteen  are  at  work.  Compare  this 
state  with  Mississippi,  for  instance,  where  47  per  cent  of 
the  children  between  ten  and  thirteen  ar6  at  work.®  Too 
often  school  boards  are  careless  in  enforcing  laws  which 
do  exist,  permitting  children  to  drop  their  work  even  though 
there  may  be  little  or  no  excuse  for  so  doing. 

Through  some  defect  in  the  school  system,  the  studies  given 
between  the  tenth  and  thirteenth  years  seem  to  fail  to  hold 
the  interest  and  to  grip  the  attention  of  the  boys  and  girls. 
School  work  and  routine  begin  to  look  impractical  to  them, 
and  discipline  grows  irksome.  Altogether  too  frequently 
the  child  who  feels  that  he  has  some  petty  complaint  is  per- 
mitted by  the  parent  simply  to  drop  his  school  work,  even 
though  there  is  but  httle  possibility  of  his  ever  again  taking 
it  up. 

Because  of  the  crowded  conditions  in  the  schools  in  certain 
localities,  the  teachers  have  so  many  pupils  to  look  after 
that  they  have  little  time  to  spend  on  individual  cases. 
From  lack  of  individual  attention  and  guidance  many  a 
child  has  fallen  behind  and  become  discouraged,  and  has 
turned  to  the  working  world  merely  to  escape  the  petty 
school  trials. 

There  are  many  children  defective  in  sight,  hearing,  or 
in  some  other  respect.  These  are  easily  discouraged,  es- 
pecially as  many  of  them  become  the  victims  of  inexperienced 
teachers  or  teachers  who  cannot  understand  them.  Back- 
ward children  as  a rule  leave  school  very  early  to  fill  unim- 
portant, ill-paid  positions  in  the  factory  and  commercial  world. 


68 


Social  Problems 


Public  indifference.  — Undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest 
causes  of  child  labor  is  the  indifference  on  the  part  of  the 
public  to  conditions  as  they  actually  exist,  and  to  the  effect 
that  child  labor  must  have  upon  future  generations.  If  the 
children  of  our  land  are  oppressed  and  made  to  work  when 
they  are  too  young,  and  under  bad  conditions,  the  fault  may 
be  laid  at  the  door  of  every  one  of  us.  The  public  is  respon- 
sible, but  it  is  not  awake  to  its  responsibility.  Avarice  and 
greed  have  dulled  the  consciences,  not  only  of  our  general 
public,  but  often’  of  our  legislators  as  well.  It  is  necessary 
that  every  man  and  woman  in  the  United  States  shall  not 
only  learn  of  the  conditions  prevailing,  but  shall  also  make  a 
determined  effort  to  eliminate  these  conditions.  Good 
child  labor  laws  must  be  demanded  and  enforced  by  an 
awakened  and  interested  public. 

Effects  of  child  labor.  — The  price  of  child  labor  is  high, 
to  the  child,  to  industry,  and  to  society. Its  effects  may 
well  be  grouped  under  the  headings  of  the  cost  of  child 
labor  to  health,  literacy,  wages,  efficiency,  home  and  morals, 
and  citizenship. 

Health. — That  child  labor  ruins  the  health  of  children, 
and  undermines  the  strength  of  a nation,  is  a self-evident 
fact.  The  boy  or  girl,  who,  from  the  age  of  ten  years 
on,  has  tended  a machine,  sitting  or  standing  in  one 
position,  performing  only  some  muscular  act  with  exacting 
routine,  and  who  has  done  this  for  ten  and  eleven  hours 
day  after  day,  — that  boy  or  girl  becomes  stunted,  maimed, 
deadened  in  body  and  mind.  As  a rule,  the  manufacturers 
whose  policy  it  is  to  employ  children,  are  those  who  are 
indifferent  regarding  the  sanitary  conditions  which  surround 
the  worker,  and  thus  we  find  that  the  disease  rate  is  high 
among  child  workers.  The  breaker  boy,  working  for  long 
hours  in  an  atmosphere  heavily  laden  with  coal  dust,  and 
the  child  toiling  day  by  day  in  the  lint  and  dust-filled  at- 
mosphere of  the  cotton  mill,  are  particularly  susceptible 


Child  Labor  69 

to  diseases  of  the  lungs.  Bad  air,  filth,  and  muscular  routine 
combine  to  wreck  their  lives. 

In  addition  to  the  toll  exacted  from  the  health  of  these 
workers,  we  find  that  their  liability  to  accident  is  very  much 
greater  than  is  that  of  the  adult  laborer.  Investigations  have 
revealed  to  us  that  in  all  occupations  averaged  together, 
children  below  sixteen  are  three  times  as  liable  to  accident  as 
are  adults.^®  The  child  in  the  coal  mine  or  in  the  factory 
is  not  old  enough  to  realize  his  responsibilities,  not  well 
enough  informed  to  understand  all  instructions,  and  not 
mature  enough  to  be  sure  of  himself  when  trusted  with  some 
tasks  involving  danger.  Many  child  workers  are  maimed 
and  crippled  for  life  through  some  bit  of  carelessness,  and  that 
their  negligence  endangers  not  only  themselves,  but  others, 
is  evinced  by  the  Cherry  Mine  disaster,  where  the  thought- 
lessness of  two  fifteen-year  old  boys  contributed  to  the  loss 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  lives.” 

The  haggard  faces,  the  patient  and  weary  air  of  these  child 
workers,  be  they  in  store,  factory,  or  mine,  reveal  to  us, 
both  what  the  tax  of  their  work  has  been  .on  their  strength, 
and  the  dulled  state  of  mind  and  body  in  which  they  perform 
their  tasks.  They  are  not  strong  and  healthy  as  children 
should  be,  nor  will  they  ever  become  so,  for  the  chance  for 
play  is  denied  them,  the  boon  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine  is 
not  theirs.  Wearied,  dulled,  often  deformed,  old  and  de- 
crepit before  their  time,  these  people  pass  on  their  weakened 
condition  to  their  children,  and  the  result  is  an  enfeebled 
race,  physically,  intellectually,  and  morally. 

Literacy.  — The  child  who  enters  the  industrial  world  at 
the  age  of  10  to  14  years,  has  not  received  enough  education 
to  make  him  capable  of  advancing  far  in  any  line  of  work 
he  may  undertake.  There  is  just  a faint  possibility  that  he 
may  have  a chance  to  continue  going  to  school  after  working 
hours,  if  he  is  strong  enough  and  has  ambition  enough  to  do 
80.  But  this  is  where  the  difficulty  shows  itself.  A child 


70 


Social  Problems 


who  has  worked  ten  or  eleven  hours  in  a day  has  neither 
time  nor  strength  left  to  go  to  school.  Tired  mind  and  tired 
body  make  him  forget  any  plan  he  may  have  had  to  do  so, 
when  he  started  work.  Thus  child  labor  produces  illiterate 
men  and  women. 

A striking  parallelism  is  found  between  the  states  having 
the  largest  percentages  of  children  at  work,  and  the  states 
having  the  largest  percentages  of  illiterates.  The  three 
states  — Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  South  Carolina  — 
having  the  largest  percentages  of  their  children  from  ten  to 
^ thirteen  years  of  age  at  work,  have  more  than  four  times 
the  percentages  of  illiterates  of  New  York  and  Massa- 
chusetts, the  two  states  having  the  smallest  percentages  of 
child  labor.  ^ Sweat  shop  labor  and  cannery  work  interfere 
with  the  school  attendance  of  children  even  younger  than 
ten  years  to  such  an  extent  that  those  children  engaged  in 
these  forms  of  labor  are  much  retarded  in  their  school  work, 
with  great  difficulty  ever  advance  in  it,  and  easily  become 
discouraged;  — thus  adding  materially  to  the  burden  of 
illiteracy  of  our  country. 

Wages.  — Repeated  investigations  have  shown  that  the 
family  wage  is  invariably  the  same,  regardless  of  the  number 
of  the  family  who  are  wage-earners.  That  is,  where  the 
women  and  children  of  a family  become  wage-earners,  the 
whole  family  earns  on  an  average  no  more  than  the  father 
would  earn,  were  such  conditions  prevailing  that  he  should 
be  the  only  wage-earner  of  that  particular  group.  Many 
instances  have  been  found  where,  in  the  stress  of  competition, 
the  women  and  children  have  taken  the  place  of  the  man, 
who  is  supported  in  idleness  from  the  products  of  the  labor 
of  the  women  and  children. 

Child  labor,  as  cheap  labor,  invariably  tends  to  bring  down 
the  wages  of  adults.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  a comparison 
of  the  wages  in  the  cotton  mills  of  Massachusetts  with  wages 
in  the  same  industry  in  the  South.  “ In  Massachusetts, 


Child  Labor 


71 


where  children  under  fourteen  are  not  permitted  to  enter 
industry  in  competition  with  their  fathers,  the  father’s  wage 
in  the  cotton  mills  advances  steadily  until  he  is  45  or  50, 
when  he  reaches  his  maximum  wage  of  18  cents  an  hour. 
In  the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  where  children  of  10  and 
12  are  employed  in  the  mills  in  competition  with  their  fathers, 
the  father  reaches  his  maximum  wage  of  13  cents  an  hour 
when  he  is  25  years  old.  After  that,  his  wage  declines 
rapidly,  until  at  50,  he  is  earning  only  9 cents  an  hour.”^^  . 

Efficiency.  — The  great  cry  of  to-day  is  for  efficiency,  yet 
in  no  phase  of  our  industrial  life  is  efficiency  sacrificed  to  a 
greater  extent  than  in  child  labor.  Starting  to  work  at  the 
age  of  ten  or  twelve,  and  merely  repeating  muscular  acts,  does 
not  make  a child  more  intelligent,  and  detracts  from,  rather 
than  adds  to,  his  ability  as  a productive  worker.  The  child 
wage-earner  niisses  that  preparation  which  alone  can  make 
him  efficient.  The  deadening  effects  on  the  child  of  long 
hours  of  monotonous  toil,  together  with  the  loss  of  proper 
recreation  and  of  manual  and  intellectual  preparation,  are 
serious  handicaps  to  his  industrial  efficiency  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  The  child  of  the  mill  and  factory  is  not  only 
subject  to  these  weakening  influences  during  the  formative 
years  of  his  life,  but  also  is  spending  this  period  in  mere 
routine  work,  and  therefore  reaches  maturity  with  an  utter 
lack  of  preparation  for  any  place  in  the  man’s  industrial 
field.  Just  to  the  extent  that  the  individual  is  weakened,  is 
the  labor  power  of  society  lessened. 

It  has  long  been  recognized  that  cheap  labor  is  not  neces- 
sarily the  most  economical  labor;  that  not  infrequently 
the  poorly  paid  laborer  needs  more  supervision,  is  more 
wasteful  of  material,  and  in  the  long  run  costs  more  than  the 
more  highly  paid  laborer.  In  many  cases,  employers  who 
have  been  compelled  by  legislation  to  give  up  the  employ- 
ment of  young  children,  have  actually  found  that  children 
over  sixteen  are  well  worth  the  higher  wage,  in  that  they 


72 


Social  Problems 


“ do  more  work,  better  work,  spoil  less  material,  and  have  a 
sense  of  responsibility.”  Also,  in  many  instances  where 
the  employer  claimed  that  certain  processes  could  not  be 
carried  on  without  the  labor  of  children,  machinery  has 
been  invented  which  can  do  the  work  more  quickly  and  more 
perfectly.  Examples  of  these  are  found  in  the  paper  box 
factor}^  machinery,  the  automatic  bottle  machine,  and  the 
slate-picking  machine,  each  of  which  does  some  of  the  more 
unhealthful  and  routine  work  formerly  done  by  children, 
and  makes  increased  production  possible.^® 

Home  and  morals.  — Wherever  children  labor  in  mills, 
factories,  or  on  the  streets,  there  seems  to  be  little  home  life. 
The  very  fact  that  child  labor  is  permitted  means  the  lower- 
ing of  wages,  to  the  end  that  nearly  every  member  of  the 
family  must  work  in  order  to  make  a meager  living.  Family 
life  is  at  a low  ebb,  and  if  there  is  a home  at  all,  it  becomes  a 
mere  eating  and  sleeping  place.  Fatigue  and  poverty  forbid 
the  normal  enjoyment  of  the  home  to  the  factory  boy  or 
girl,  while  the  restraints  of  a home  grow  irksome  to  the  street 
worker.  Where  children  are  permitted  to  work,  fathers  and 
mothers  become  unnaturally  anxious  to  have  their  children 
attain  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  in  order  that  they  may  add 
to  the  family  income  their  small  weekly  wage.  Fathers  and 
mothers  even  swear  falsely  to  the  ages  of  their  children,  that 
thay  may  work  at  an  earlier  age.  Child  labor  makes  home 
life  unnatural. 

The  overworked,  tired,  and  discouraged  boys  and  girls 
in  the  factory  are  the  victims  of  conditions  which  bring  about 
the  stunting  and  shrinking  of  their  moral  senses.  However, 
more  than  to  these,  do  temptations  come  to  the  children 
who  are  classified  as  street  workers,  — that  is,  messengers, 
newsboys,  bootblacks,  and  errand  boys.  Pool  rooms, 
saloons,  dance  halls,  and  gambling  dens,  all  these  are  on  their 
daily  routes,  and  come  to  constitute  much  of  the  boys’  idea 
of  life.  Errand  boys  are  sent  to  places  where  self-respecting 


Child  Labor 


73 


adults  would  hesitate  to  go.  The  result  of  this  so-called  street 
life  is  that  many  of  these  boys  have  perverted  ideas  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  are  attracted  by  the  glare  of  the  excitement 
around  them,  or  driven  by  a cruel  need  of  mere  necessities, 
into  habits  of  deception,  theft,  and  gambling.  Frequent 
contact  with  all  forms  of  crime,  vice,  and  dissipation  tends 
to  blunt  their  moral  sense.  Long  hours  and  excessive 
fatigue  weaken  their  power  of  resistance,  and  they  readily 
yield  to  the  temptations  that  beset  them  on  all  sides.  Rec- 
ords of  the  juvenile  courts  show  that  in  a large  proportion 
of  the  cases  heard  there,  the  crimes  are  committed  by  working 
children,  and  a great  majority  of  them  by  those  in  street 
trades. As  Owen  R.  Lovejoy  has  said,  this  street  work 
“ is  a blind  alley,  leaving  the  boy  at  the  end  of  one  or  five 
years  as  undeveloped  as  when,  he  began,  having  in  the  mean- 
time absorbed  his  years,  sapped  his  energy,  blunted  his  sen- 
sibilities, and  shattered  his  ideals.’’ 

Citizenship.  — It  is  inevitable  that  child  workers,  as  they 
endure  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  their  lot,  should  feel  a 
vague  resentment  toward  employers  and  prevailing  conditions 
of  employment.  Class  distinction  is  emphasized,  and  a real 
democracy  cannot  exist  under  these  circumstances.  Lack 
of  education,  and  of  a chance  to  develop,  does  not  make  for 
good  citizenship.  On  May  31,  1914,  according  to  the 
New  York  Sun,  there  were  two  thousand  men  in  the  Munici- 
pal Lodging  House  in  that  city.  Of  these,  one  thousand  had 
left  school  before  they  were  fourteen.^®  Premature  work  has 
given  us  the  “ child  labor  adult,”  whose  usefulness  is  much 
impaired.  The  most  undesirable  of  employees,  he  is  most 
often  without  work.  Bitter  because  he  is  idle,  or  because 
he  can  command  but  the  smallest  of  wages,  this  man  does 
not  contribute  much  to  the  citizenship  of  our  country.  As 
one  person  has  said,  “ There’s  a heap  of  difference  between 
working  and  being  worked.”  22  The  child  labor  adult  feels 
that  he  has  been  worked,  and  that,  in  a country  where 


74 


Social  Problems 


people  are  called  free  and  equal.  The  strength  of  a nation 
lies  in  the  quality  of  its  citizens.  Lord  Macaulay  summed 
up  this  subject  when  he  said,  Intense  labor,  beginning  too 
early  in  life,  continued  too  long  every  day,  stunting  the 
growth  of  the  mind,  leaving  no -time  for  healthful  exercise, 
no  time  for  intellectual  culture,  must  impair  all  those  high 
qualities  that  have  made  our  country  great.” 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  has  well  sum- 
marised the  high  cost  of  child  labor  ” : 

1.  It  Costs  the  Child 

Accidents  and  Disease. 

Lack  of  Education. 

Material  and  Spiritual  Loss. 

2.  It  Costs  Industry 

Waste  of  Products. 

Less  Profit  in  the  Long  Run. 

Lower  Efficiency  of  Child  Labor  Adults. 

3.  It  Costs  Society 

Wrecked  Human  Beings. 

Broken  Homes. 

Ignorant  Citizens, 

Possible  Criminality. 

Prevention  of  child  labor.  — Investigation  and  education.  — 
Intelligent  public  opinion  is  very  necessary  before  we  can 
expect  to  secure  wise  legislation  for  the  control  of  child 
labor.  It  is  not  only  necessary  that  careful  and  extensive  in- 
vestigations be  made  regarding  conditions  as  they  actually 
exist,  but  also  after  securing  this  information  it  must  be 
brought  before  the  attention  of  all  the  people.  Nor  is  it 
enough  that  they  merely  know  the  facts  of  child  labor,  but 
they  must  also  be  made  to  appreciate  the  serious  consequences 
to  the  child,  to  industry,  and  to  society  generally,  if  some- 
thing is  not  done  toward  its  prevention.  England,  as  we 
have  seen,  has  been  fighting  this  evil  for  more  than  a century, 


i^ounesy  JSational  Child  Labor  Committee 
A Family  of  Wage-eabners. 


Courtesy  JSuiionat  Child  Labor  Committee 

In  the  Canneries. 


m ubrart 

OF  THI 

ONIVERSITV  Of  tLl«»<»S 


Child  Labor 


75 


and  the  United  States,  for  a littU  more  than  half  a century, 
but  it  is  only  within  the  past  few  years  that  we  have  taken 
hold  of  the  problem  vigorously,  and  have  made  determined 
efforts  to  check  these  abuses. 

A number  of  the  separate  states  have  made  studies  of 
this  question,  and  have  published  the  results  of  their  investi- 
gations. More  recently  the  Federal  government  has  recog- 
nized the  importance  of  the  subject,  as  a result  of  which  we 
have  the  extensive  information  contained  in  the  reports  of 
the  Industrial  Commission,  in  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 
the  Census,  and  in  a number  of  the  special  reports  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor,  including  the  published  results  of  the  inves- 
tigation authorized  by  Congress  into  the  condition  of  the 
women  and  child  wage  earners  of  our  country.  The 
Federal  government  further  showed  its  concern  over  the  wel- 
fare of  the  child  by  establishing  the  Federal  Children’s  Bureau 
in  1912,  whose  duty  is  “ solely  to  study  and  report  upon  con- 
ditions affecting  the  welfare  of  children.”  The  publications 
of  these  bureaus  have  been  most  useful  in  spreading  informa- 
tion throughout  the  country. 

In  addition  to  these,  many  private  associations  have  shown 
an  interest  in  this  question  by  carrying  on  investigations 
of  their  own,  and  in  extending  this  information  to  the  public 
by  means  of  platform,  pulpit,  and  press.  The  labor  unions 
have  almost  invariably  been  found  aligned  with  those  forces 
opposed  to  child  labor.  The  American  Association  for 
Labor  Legislation  has  been  an  active  force  in  securing  legis- 
lation for  the  protection  of  the  child.  Many  organizations, 
such  as  the  National  Consumers’  League,  the  Women’s  Clubs, 
the  Y.  M.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  particularly  the  various 
churches,  have  been  most  instrumental  in  extending  informa- 
tion regarding  conditions,  and  in  arousing  sentiment  against 
the  evils  of  child  labor. 

Perhaps  the  most  effective  single  organization  working  in 
the  interests  of  the  child  laborer  is  the  National  Child 


76 


Social  Problems 


Labor  Committee.  This  committee  was  organized  in  1904. 
Its  principal  activities  have  been  investigation,  instigation 
and  furtherance  of  legislation,  publicity  and  educational 
work,  and  cooperation  in  making  child  labor  laws  effective. 
This  committee  has  carried  on  investigations  on  its  own  be- 
half, and  through  the  work  of  its  staff  photographer,  has 
been  able  to  present  its  findings  in  a most  vivid  and  realistic 
way.  Through  the  distribution  of  several  million  leaflets 
and  other  publications,  if  has  given  wide  publicity  to  the 
facts  regarding  child  labor.  It  has  drafted  bills,  and  has 
rendered  most  effective  aid  in  the  securing  of  legislation, 
through  the  state  and  Federal  governments.  It  has  sent  its 
Child  Labor  Exhibit  to  many  cities  and  has  supplied  charts, 
photographs,  and  pamphlets  to  many  individuals  and  asso- 
ciations, in  order  to  arouse  interest  in  the  problem.  It  has 
aided  in  the  enforcement  of  the  laws,  and  has  supplemented 
and  cooperated  with  the  various  state  and  local  committees 
in  all  phases  of  the  work. 

Legislative  measures.  — Direct.  — As  a result  of  the  agitar 
tion  which  has  been  carried  on,  every  state  in  the  Union  has 
passed  at  least  some  legislation  in  the  interests  of  its  child 
workers.  There  is,  however,  a woeful  lack  of  uniformity  in 
existing  laws,  and  no  state  has  gone  so  far  as  is  desirable  in 
the  way  of  protecting  its  children.  Twenty-five  states  have 
prohibited  child  labor  under  fourteen  years  in  mills  and  facto- 
ries. Thirty-four  states  have  forbidden  night  work  to  chil- 
dren under  sixteen  in  mills  and  factories.  Eighteen  states 
limit  the  labor  of  children  under  sixteen  to  eight  hours  a day 
in  mill  and  factory.  Fourteen  states  have  forbidden  children 
under  sixteen  years  to  labor  in  mines  and  quarries. Com- 
paring these  numbers  with  the  total  number  of  states  shows 
us  that  a number  of  states  have  not  yet  secured  even  these 
minimum  provisions  of  a good  child  labor  law. 

The  most  comprehensive  attempt  at  Federal  regulation  of 
child  labor  was  the  Palmer-0  wen  Bill,  drafted  by  the  National 


Child  Labor 


77 


Child  Labor  Committee  and  introduced  in  Congress  in 
January,  1914.  It  failed  to  pass  this  Congress  and  was  again 
introduced  in  1915  as  the  Keating-Owen  Bill.  This  bill  at- 
tempted to  restrict  child  labor  by  excluding  from  interstate 
commerce  all  goods  produced  in  factories,  mills,  canneries,  or 
workshops,  where  children  under  fourteen  are  employed  at 
any  time ; goods  produced  in  mines  or  quarries  where  chil- 
dren under  sixteen  are  employed ; and  goods  produced  by 
children  under  sixteen  working  more  than  eight  hours  a day, 
or  working  by  night.  Although  the  four  essential  provisions 
of  this  biU  are  considered  but  the  minimum  requirements  of 
a good  child  labor  law,  only  nine  states  have  the  provisions 
of  this  bill  already  on  their  statute  books.* 

Indirect.  — In  addition  to  the  direct  legislative  measures 
on  child  labor,  indirect  measures  are  very  essential.  To 
prohibit  children  from  working  and  yet  not  to  require  their 
attendance  at  school  is  utterly  absurd ; hence  compulsory 
education  laws  must  go  hand  in  hand  with,  and  be  in  har- 
mony with,  child  labor  laws. 

Further  restriction  is  secured  in  the  several  states  by  the 
establishment  of  a minimum  standard  for  the  wages  of 
women  and  minors.  About  one  half  of  the  states  are  now 
trying  some  form  of  mothers'  pensions  to  lessen  the  de- 
pendence of  the  family  upon  the  wages  of  children.  In  the 
few  cases  where  there  has  been  found  to  be  a real  need  of  the 
wages  of  children,  it  has  proved  far  more  economical  in  the 
long  run  to  alleviate  this  need  through  the  grant  of  a small 
pension  to  the  mother,  than  to  permit  the  child  to  continue 
in  industry,  and  thus  to  handicap  his  future  earning  capacity. 
The  establishing  of  suitable  playgrounds  is  also  of  impor- 
tance in  supplementing  the  child  labor  laws.  One  of  the  im- 
portant reasons  for  taking  the  child  from  the  factory  and  from 
the  mine  is  to  afford  him  time  for  play,  and  provision  must 

* Arizona,  Arkansas,  Illinois,  Kentucky,  Montana,  New  York,  Ohio, 
Oklahoma,  and  Wisconsin.^^ 


78 


Social  Problems 


be  made  for  the  healthy  development  of  this  side  of  the  child’s 
activity. 

No  matter  how  good  the  laws  on  the  statute  books  may  be, 
they  are  of  but  little  effect  unless  properly  enforced.  Many 
of  the  states  have  passed  reasonably  good  laws,  only  to  have 
them  nullified  by  inadequate  provisions  for  their  enforce- 
ment. An  adequate  force  of  inspectors  is  most  necessary 
in  order  , to  make  any  of  these  laws  effective,  and  back  of 
the  inspector  there  must  be  strong  vigorous  administrative 
officers  whose  duty  it  is  to  enforce  the  laws. 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  suggests  the  follow- 
ing as  the  recognized  minimum  provisions  of  a good  child 
labor  law : 

1.  A fourteen-year  limit,  at  least,  for  all  gainful  occupa- 
tions. 

2.  A higher  age  limit  for  mines,  quarries,  and  other  danger- 
ous trades,  and  a twenty-one-year  limit  for  night  messengers. 

3.  An  eight-hour  day,  and  no  night  work  for  children 
over  fourteen. 

4.  Requirement  of  work  permits  for  children  over  fourteen. 

5.  Scientific  inspection  of  factories  and  other  places  of 
employment  to  insure  obedience  to  the  law. 

Child  idleness.  — Any  consideration  of  child  labor  should 
not  overlook  child  idleness.  Since  industry  has  been  taken 
so  largely  out  of  the  home,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  in  many 
communities  to  find  work  suitable  for  the  child.  In  many 
homes  this  is  a greater  problem  than  child  labor.  The 
earnings  are  not  needed  to  supplement  the  family  income, 
yet  it  is  recognized  that  it  is  most  harmful  for  the  young 
person  to  have  nothing  to  do  — simply  to  drift  along  in 
idleness.  In  almost  any  community  groups  of  children  and 
of  young  people  may  be  seen  loafing  about  the  street  corners. 
There  is  a strong  tendency  for  them  to  pick  up  the  petty 
vices  of  the  street,  and  it  is  but  a step  to  the  pool  hall  and 
the  dance  hall.  It  becomes  increasingly  difficult  for  such 


Child  Labor 


79 


young  persons  to  overcome  the  habits  of  idleness  thus  formed, 
and  to  hold  themselves  to  any  line  of  work  or  study  requiring 
steady,  consistent  application  of  either  mental  or  physical 
powers. 

An  effort  must  be  made  to  prevent  this  waste  of  time  and 
this  loss  of  energy.  This  may  be  done  by  providing  oppor- 
tunities for  wholesome  recreation  for  the  young  people  through 
the  extension  of  playgrounds,  by  permitting  the  use  of  school 
grounds  and  school  gymnasia  during  vacation  periods,  by 
providing  public  bathhouses,  and  especially  by  employing 
a play  expert,  as  many  communities  are  now  doing,  to  direct 
the  recreational  activities.  Nor  does  all  of  this  time  need 
to  be  absorbed  in  mere  play.  Now  that  there  are  not  the 
opportunities  for  helping  about  the  home  that  there  were 
formerly,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  school  day  should  not 
be  lengthened,  not  necessarily  by  more  extended  study 
periods,  but  by  extending  the  time  devoted  to  industrial 
training  and  domestic  science,  and  by  varying  this  work 
with  the  study  and  play  periods.  Such  use  of  idle  time  will 
partially  compensate  for  the  loss  of  old-fashioned  home 
training  that  is  so  rapidly  being  lost  in  modern  homes.  It 
is  likewise  exceedingly  illogical  for  our  schoolhouses  with 
their  splendid  equipment  to  be  closed  up  three  months  of 
each  year  while  at  the  same  time  large  numbers  of  young 
people  are  restless  and  uneasy  through  not  knowing  what  to 
do  with  themselves.  Many  of  the  boys  and  girls  would 
be  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  using  the  industrial  and  manual 
training  equipment  of  our  schools  for  at  least  part  of  the 
time  during  the  long  summer  vacations. 

A number  of  the  leading  social  workers  of  this  country 
have  recognized  the  growing  importance  of  this  problem 
and  have  organized  the  Playground  and  Recreation  Associa- 
tion of  America.  This  association  has  cooperated  with  a 
great  many  communities  in  their  endeavor  “ to  change 
leisure  from  a liability  to  an  asset.” 


8o 


Social  Problems 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  character  of  child 
labor  ? 

2.  What  were  the  conditions  leading  up  to  the  first  child  labor 
legislation  in  England  ? 

3.  Trace  the  successive  steps  in  child  labor  legislation  in  England. 

4.  Tell  of  the  rise  of  the  problem  of  child  labor  in  the  United 
States.  How  did  conditions  here  differ  from  those  in  England? 

5.  Mention  some  of  the  more  important  child  labor  legislation 
in  the  United  States. 

6.  How  many  children  are  employed  as  wage-earners  in  the 
United  States?  In  what  industries?  How  does  the  number  vary 
in  the  different  states? 

7.  What  relation  has  poverty  to  child  labor  ? 

8.  How  may  the  policies  of  employers  increase  child  labor? 

9.  In  what  ways  have  the  newer  methods  in  industry  con- 
tributed to  child  labor? 

10.  The  conditions  in  our  schools  have  what  bearing  on  child  labor  ? 

11.  In  what  way  may  public  indifference  be  said  to  be  a cause  of 
child  labor  ? 

12.  What  is  said  about  the  effect  of  child  labor  on  health? 
Literacy?  Wages?  Efficiency?  Home  and  morals ? Citizenship? 

13.  Why  should  investigation  and  education  precede  child  labor 
legislation  ? 

14.  Name  some  of  the  principal  associations  working  along 
these  lines. 

15.  TeU  of  the  work  of  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee. 

16.  What  legislation  has  already  been  passed  directly  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  child  workers  ? 

17.  Mention  some  of  the  more  important  legislation  indirectly 
affecting  the  children  wage-earners, 

18.  State  the  minimum  provisions  of  a good  child  labor  law. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  pp.  388-9. 

2.  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  pp.  20-4. 

3.  Ely,  Outlines  of  Economics,  p.  52. 

4.  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  25. 

5.  Carlton,  p.  383. 

6.  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  Report,  1914. 

7.  Census,  1910,  Volume  on  Occupations,  p.  70. 


Child  Labor 


8i 


8.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,’ Pamphlet  237,  p.  8. 

9.  Census,  1910,  Volume  on  Occupations,  p.  28. 

10.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  237,  p.  5. 

11.  Bulletin  of  Child  Labor,  February,  1915,  p.  38. 

12.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  185,  p.  5. 

13.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  185,  p.  6. 

14.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  24f,  p.  16. 

15.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241. 

16.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  p.  2. 

17.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  p.  4. 

18.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  p.  6. 

19.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  p.  7. 

20.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  pp.  7-8. 

21.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  185,  p.  13. 

22.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  185,  p.  8. 

23.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  185,  p.  15. 

24.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  249. 

25.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  p.  19. 

26.  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  Pamphlet  241,  p.  12. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

The  Child  Labor  Bulletin  and  pamphlets  issued  by  The  National 
Child  Labor  Committee,  105  E.  22d  St.,  New  York  City. 
These  publications  furnish  the  best  and  most  recent  informa- 
tion on  all  phases  of  child  labor. 

Report  on  Condition  of  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the 
United  States,  19  Volumes,  Senate  Document  645,  61st  Con- 
gress, 2d  Session. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Ch.  II. 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Ch.  XIII. 

Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  Chs.  I and  II. 

Hull  House  Maps  and  Papers,  Ch.  III.  ^ 

Addams,  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace,  Ch.  VI. 

Nearing,  Social  Religion,  Chs.  IV  and  V. 

Nearing,  The  Child  Labor  Problem. 

Hunter,  Poverty,  Ch.  V. 

Bowen,  Safeguards  for  City  Youth  at  Work  and  at  Play,  Ch.  III. 
Spargo,  The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children. 

Addams,  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets. 

Clopper,  Child  Labor  in  City  Streets. 

Mangold,  Problems  of  Child  Welfare. 

G 


CHAPTER  V 

WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

I.  Rise,  of  the  problem  in.  the  United  States. 

II.  Number  of  women  employed. 

III.  Occupations  open  to  women. 

IV.  Wages  of  women. 

1.  Comparison  of  women’s  with  men’s  wages. 

2.  Inadequacy  of  women’s  wages. 

3.  Effect  of  low  wages. 

4.  Reasons  for  low  wages. 

V.  Competition  of  women  with  men. 

VI.  Legislation  in  behalf  of  working  women. 


The  rise  of  the  problem.  — Women  have  always  played  an 
important  part  in  industry.  In  fact,  in  the  early  history  of 
most  peoples  the  women  are  found  carrying  on  the  principal 
industrial  activities,  while  the  men  are  engaged  in  war,  or  in 
hunting  and  fishing.  The  many  changes  which  have  taken 
place  in  our  economic  life  during 'the  past  century  have 
brought  about  a readjustment  of  woman’s  place  in  industry. 
This  readjustment  has  been  accompanied  by  certain  ad- 
vantages, but  along  with  these  have  come  various  dangers 
which  have  threatened  the  welfare  of  society.  Many  of  the 
conditions  affecting  the  employment  of  women  are  similar  to 
those  affecting  the  employment  of  children.  Long  hours  of 
toil  under  unhealthful  conditions  are  not  only  a menace 
to  the  health  of  the  woman  as  they  are  to  the  child,  but  they 
have  also  quite  as  serious  an  effect  on  all  society. 

Down  to  the  beginning  of  the  past  century,  women  were 
largely  employed  in  the  home.  They  were  not  employed  as 
wage-earners,  but  were  rather  busied  about  their  household 

82 


Women  in  Industry 


83 


duties.  With  the  changes  of  industry  that  came  in  about 
the  beginning  of  the  century,  more  and  more  of  the  work  that 
was  formerly  done  in  the  home  was  taken  over  by  the 
factory.  The  period  from  1815  to  about  1830  saw  many 
changes  in  our  industrial  life,  the  most  important  of  which 
was  the  passing  of  the  old  household  textile  industries  into 
the  factory  system.  By  the  end  of  this  period  we  have 
a well-defined  group  of  women  wage-earners  as  an  integral 
part  of  our  labor  supply. 

Woman’s  entrance  into  the  wage-earning  class  was  very 
gradual,  and  for  several  decades  was  limited  to  a compara- 
tively few  industries.  As  the  number  of  woman  workers 
has  increased,  the  need  of  regulating  their  activities  has 
arisen.  The  employment  of  large  numbers  of  women  tends 
to  weaken  the  home.  Young  women  who  begin  at  an  early 
age  as  wage-earners  are  deprived  of  their  preparation  for 
home-making,  and  often  become  dissatisfied  and  unwilling  to 
settle  down  to  the  routine  of  a home.  For  a large  number 
of  married  women  to  be  employed  means  their  absence  from 
the  home  for  the  time  that  they  are  employed.  This-is  more 
serious  when  there  are  children,  because  it  not  only^prevents 
the  mother  from  giving  her  best  to  the  home,  but  also  keeps 
her  away  from  the  children  when  they  are  in  need  of  train- 
ing and  care. 

Many  of  the  industries  which  women  have  entered  have 
proved  a serious  drain  upon  their  health.  Those  occu- 
pations which  require  women  to  stand  for  long  hours,  to 
work  in  cramped  positions,  or  in  poorly  ventilated  rooms, 
tend  to  weaken  their  physical  constitution,  which  inevitably 
means  that  a weaker  generation  will  succeed  them.  And 
finally  as  women  enter  the  industrial  field  they  tend  to  lower 
the  wages  of  the  men. 

It  is  because  of  these  newer  phases  of  woman’s  industry 
that  society  out  of  self-protection  is  concerned  with  her  wel- 
fare, and  is  attempting  to  eliminate,  or  at  least  to  lessen, 


84 


Social  Problems 


some  of  these  evils  which  have  followed  her  entrance  into 
our  economic  life  as  a wage-earner. 

Number  of  women  employed.  — There  are  about  eight 
million  women  in  the  United  States  engaged  in  some  form  of 
gainful  occupation.  This  means  that  a little  more  than 
one  fifth  of  all  the  wage-earners  in  the  country  are  women 
(21  %) ; also,  that  of  all  the  women  in  the  country  ten  years 
of  age  and  over  somewhat  over  one  fifth  are  wage-earners 
(23%).  ' For  each  of  the  past  four  decades,  an  increasingly 
large  proportion  of  women  have  been  listed  as  being  engaged 
in  gainful  occupations.  During  the  same  four  decades,  the 
proportion  of  the  total  male  population  ten  years  of  age  and 
over  who  were  gainfully  employed  increased  from  78  per 
cent  to  81  per  cent ; while  the  proportion  of  the  female  popu- 
lation so  employed  increased  from  14  per  cent  to  23  per  cent. 
Thus,  not  only  is  the  proportion  of  women  gainfully  em- 
ployed increasing  rapidly,  but  it  is  increasing  more  rapidly 
than  is  the  number  of  men  so  employed.^ 

This  proportion  varies  greatly  in  the  different  sections  of 
the  United  States.^  It  is  particularly  high  in  some  of  the 
manufacturing  states  of  the  East,  such  as  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island,  where  nearly  one  third  of  all  the  females 
ten  years  of  age  and  over  are  engaged  in  some  gainful  occupa- 
tion, and  in  some  of  the  agricultural  states  of  the  South,  such 
as  Mississippi  and  South  Carolina,  where  this  proportion  is 
nearly  one  half.  In  contrast  with  this,  in  the  two  mining 
states  of  Idaho  and  West  Virginia,  and  in  Kansas,  only  , 
about  one  eighth  of  the  women  are  classed  as  wage-earners. 
On  the  whole,  the  proportion  in  the  North  Central  and  the 
Mountain  states  is  much  less  than  it  is  in  New  England,  the 
South  Atlantic,  and  the  Southern  states. 

Occupations  open  to  women.  — Not  only  has  the  number 
of  women  wage-earners  increased  very  rapidly,  but  also  the 
number  of  occupations  which  women  enter  has  increased 
even  more  rapidly.  When  Harriet  Martineau  visited 


85 


Women  in  Industry 

America,  in  1840,  she  reported  that  she  found  but  seven  em- 
ployments open  to  women,  — teaching,  needlework,  keeping 
boarders,  working  in  cotton  mills,  typesetting,  working  in 
bookbinderies,  and  household  service.^  Although  woman’s 
activities  were  probably  not  quite  as  limited  as  this,  they  were 
very  few  in  number.  From  that  time  to  the  present,  woman 
has  entered  into  many  and  varied  occupations.  At  the  last 
census,  of  the  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  occupations 
listed  women  were  found  in  three  hundred  and  eighty-five. 
Of  the  one  hundred  and  sixteen  principal  occupations, 
women  had  entered  all  except  those  of  conductors,  motor- 
men,  brakemen,  firemen  and  engineers,  soldiers  and  sailors, 
plumbers,  policemen,  and  street  laborers.^ 

The  onl}^'  occupation  in  which  the  women  ^outnumbered 
the  men.  was  in  domestic  and  personal  service,  where  the 
proportion  was  a little  more  than  two  women  to  one  man. 
In  professional  service,  because  of  the  large  number  of  women 
teachers,  there  are  about  four  women  to  every  five  men. 
About  one  third  of  all  those  in  clerical  occupations,  and  one 
sixth  of  all  those  engaged  in  manufacturing,  are  women. 
Of  the  persons  engaged  in  transportation  one  out  of  twenty- 
five  is  a woman,  while  in  mining  industries  ^only  one  in  a 
thousand  is  a vroman.^ 

Wages  of  women.  Comparison  of  women’s  wages  with 
men  s wages.  There  are  two  important  phases  of  women’s 
wages  to  be  considered  : first,  their  relation  to  men’s  wages ; 
and  second,  their  inadequacy.  There  are  but  few  occupa- 
tions in  the  United  States  in  which  women  receive  the  same 
wages  as  men  for  the  same  amount  of  work.  In  some  of  the 
more  highly  skilled  professional  services,  and  in  a few  of 
the  occupations  where  “ paying  by  piece  ” prevails,  the  wages 
are  about  equal.  In  many  other  occupations,  the  wages 
received  by  men  are  greatly  in  excesg  of  those  received  by 
women.  Scott  Nearing,  in  “Wages  in  the  United  States,” 
says  that  “ in  view  of  all  the  evidence,  it  is  fair  to  say  that 


86 


Social  Problems 


the  adult  male  wageworkers  in  the  industries  of  that  section 
of  the  United  States  l3dng  east  of  the  Rockies  and  north  of 
the  Mason  and  Dixon  Line  receive  a total  average  annual 
wage  of  about  $600,”  and  that  “ the  average  annual  earn- 
ings of  adujt  females  in  the  same  area  is  about  $350.”® 
According  to  the  Pittsburgh  Survey,  of  the  laborers  employed 
in  the  mills,  the  women  received  about  one  half  as  much  as 
the  unorganized  men,  and  a third  as  much  as  the  organized 
men  in  the  same  shops.  A study  of  the  meat-packing  in- 
dustry in  Chicago  showed  that  the  women  received  from  a 
dollar  to  a dollar  and  a quarter  a day  less  than  men  for  the 
same  work.'^ 

The  inadequacy  of  woman’s  wage  is  well  shown  in  the 
summary  given  by  Scott  Nearing  for  the  aforementioned 
industrial  area  of  the  United  States.  From  the  study  of 
available  statistics  he  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  ‘‘  a 
fifth  of  the  women  workers  earn  less  than  $200  annually; 
that  three  fifths  are  receiving  less  than  $325;  that  nine 
tenths  are  earning  less  than  $500  a year;  while  only  one 
twentieth  are  paid  more  than  $600  a year.”  ® Many  spe- 
cial studies  in  different  sections  of  the  country  have  shown  a 
correspondingly  low  wage  paid  women.  In  Massachusetts 
the  Minimum  Wage  Commission  found  that  more  than  two 
fifths  of  the  adult  women  candy  workers,  and  more  than 
one  fifth  of  the  adult  women  cotton  workers  in  the  state, 
earned  less  than  $5  a week.  A recent  investigation  in  Kansas 
City  showed  that  one  half  of  the  wage-earning  girls  earned 
$6  or  less  per  week.  At  the  same  time  the  committee  that 
made  the  investigation  maintained  that  $9  per  week  was  a 
living  wage.®  According  to  the  Pittsburgh  Survey,  three 
fifths  of  the  women  wage-earners  in  manufacturing  and 
mercantile  pursuits  were  receiving  from  three  to  six  dollars 
per  week.^®  These  and  other  investigations  have  shown  that 
a very  large  proportion  of  the  women  wage-earners  of  the 
countr}^  are  working  for  a wage  considerably  below  what 


Women  in  Industry  87 

is  considered  necessary  to  maintain  a decent  standard  of 
livingd^ 

Effect  of  low  wages.  — When  we  consider  that  more  than 
one  fifth  of  the  women  of  the  country  are  wage-earners,  it  is 
very  evident  that  for  a large  proportion  of  these  to  be  work- 
ing at  a wage  less  than  sufficient  to  provide  the  common 
necessities  of  life  cannot  but  have  a serious  effect  upon 
society  as  a whole.  The  low  wage  invariably  njeans  living 
under  conditions  which  are  detrimental  to  health.  Stringent 
economizing  in  the  use  of  nourishing  food,  living  in  poor 
and  unhealthful  quarters,  the  lack  of  proper  clothing,  and  of 
needed  medical  care,  — all  these  tend  to  weaken  the  physi- 
cal powers  of  the  underpaid  woman  wage-earner.  The  young 
woman  who  must  put  in  long  hours  every  day  earning  the 
barest  necessities  of  life  has,  moreover,  but  little  oppor- 
tunity for  self -betterment. 

Much  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  relation  between  low 
wages  and  immorality.  There  are,  however,  probably  but 
very  few  cases  where  low  wages  may  be  said  to  be  the  direct 
cause  of  immoral  conduct,  but  they  are  undoubtedly  a con- 
tributing factor  in  a great  many  instances.  A wage  which 
compels  a girl  to  live  in  an  adverse  environment,  and  prevents 
her  from  satisfying  the  perfectly  normal  desire  for  wholesome 
pleasure,  cannot  but  weaken  her  power  of  resistance,  and 
this  just  at  the  time  when  temptations  assail  her  most 
strongly. 

Not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  the  physical,  mental, 
and  moral  welfare  of  the  women  wage-earners,  but  also  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  welfare  of  society  of  the  present  and 
of  the  future,  it  is  necessary  that  women  be  protected  from 
the  long  working  day,  and  from  conditions  which  are  a 
menace  to  health  and  morals ; also  that  they  shall  be  given 
a wage  that  will  permit  them  to  maintain  a decent  and  reason- 
able standard  of  living. 

Reasons  for  low  wages  paid  women.^^^^  — Economic  condi- 


88 


Social  Problems 


tions  rather  than  ethical  considerations  are  responsible  for 
the  low  wages  paid  women. 

1.  Woman  is  a comparatively  new  factor  in  the  industrial 
field,  and  in  the  process  of  readjustment  the  supply  of  her 
labor  has  been  in  excess  of  the  demand  for  it. 

2.  There  are  many  occupations,  such  as  those  connected 
With  transportation  and  mining,  which  women  are  physi- 
cally unfitted  to  enter.  Not  being  so  strong  as  men,  they 
lose  more  time  because  of  sickness;  also  now  that  an  in- 
creasingly large  number  of  married  women  are  entering  in- 
dustry as  wage-earners,  maternity  is  becoming  of  increasing 
importance  as  a cause  of  low  wages.  Since  the  number  of 
occupations  in  which  great  numbers  of  women  are  found  is 
comparatively  limited,  the  competition  for  work  in  these 
occupations  is  increased. 

3.  It  is  more  difficult  for  women  to  move  about  from  place 
to  place,  and  thus  take  advantage  of  any  opportunities  for 
possible  advancement.  They  are  more  frequently  held  back 
by  home  ties,  are  less  venturesome  than  men,  and  because 
of  their  sex,  they  are  prevented  from  going  into  many  of  the 
rougher  section^  of  the  country,  or  from  entering  the  more 
hazardous  occupations.  Custom  and  tradition  likewise 
not  infrequently  tend  to  limit  the  freedom  of  women  in 
seeking  new  occupations.  These  again  tend  to  increase  the 
congestion  in  those  occupations  which  women  have  entered. 

4.  A woman  entering  into  an  industry  does  not  usually 
expect  to  remain  in  it  all  her  life ; therefore  she  does  not  feel 
justified  in  spending  a great  length  of  time  in  equipping  her- 
self for  the  highest  possible  efficiency  in  this  industry.  She 
does  not  have  the  same  incentive  for  taking  an  interest  in  the 
work  as  does  the  man  who  expects  to  follow  a given  pursuit 
all  his  life,  and  hopes  to  become,  himself,  a manager  or  pro- 
prietor in  the  business. 

5.  Many  of  the  women  workers  are  not  entirely  dependent 
upon  what  they  earn ; consequently  they  are  willing  to  work 


89 


Women  in  Industry 

at  a low  wage.  Some  live  at  home  and  do  not  have  to  pay 
for  room  and  board  out  of  their  earnings.  Others  receive 
aid  from  relatives.  Many  farmers’  wives  and  daughters 
do  work  sent  out  from  the  cities  merely  for  the  pin  money 
they  can  earn.  These  women,  in  working  for  less  than  a 
living  wage,  little  realize  the  hardship  that  they  cause  other 
workers  who  have  to  compete  with  them,  and  who  must 
supply  all  their  wants  from  their  earnings. 

6.  Woman  has  not  had  the  influence  of  cooperation  and 
organization  to  back  her  in  her  demands  for  a higher  wage 
It  has  been  primarily  through  organization  that  man  has 
been  able  to  demand  higher  wages  and  better  working 
conditions.  Woman,  being  new  in  the  industrial  field,  has 
not  had  the  benefits  of  such  organization  to  the  extent 
that  man  has.  Women  do  not  remain  in  industry  so  long  as 
men ; many  of  the  occupation^  in  which  they  are  engaged  in 
large  numbers  are  of  such  character  as  to  make  it  very 
difficult  to  form  unions ; and  because  they  do  not  expect 
to  remain  as  wage-earners,  they  have  not  as  strong  incentives 
to  organize  as  have  the  men. 

7.  It  IS  only  recently  that  woman  has  become  a political 
factor.  She  has  been  under  subjection  so  long,  has  so  long 
been  ‘‘  dependent  on  the  influence  of  men  generally  too 
selfish  to  be  of  any  practical  benefit  to  her,”  that  it  must  take 
time  for  her  to  receive  justice  and  recognition  as  a wage- 
earner.  As  woman  advances  in  power  in  the  political  life, 
it  IS  by  many  expected  that  she  will  make  more  effective  her 
demands  for  higher  wages  and  better  conditions  in  the  in- 
dustrial life. 

Competition  of  women  with  men.  — It  is  difficult  to  de- 
termme  to  just  what  extent  women’s  labor  enters  into  com- 
petition with  men’s  labor.  There  are  undoubtedly  some 
occupations,  such  as  bookkeeping,  stenography,  and  clerking, 
in  which  there  has  been  a tendency  for  women  to  take  the 
place  of  men.  In  certain  localities,  as  in  some  of  the  factory 


90 


Social  Problems 


districts,  because  of  the  excessive  demand  for  women’s 
labor,  man  has  frequently  been  supplanted,  and  we  find  the 
abnormal  condition  of  the  man  caring  for  the  home  or  re- 
maining in  idleness  while  the  woman  labors  in  the  factory 
as  the  breadwinner  of  the  family.  It  seems  more  probable 
that  women  are  taking  the  place  of  children  in  many  indus- 
tries ; that  they  are  entering  new  industries  which  are  being 
developed  under  changing  conditions ; and  that  large  num- 
bers of  them  have  merely  followed  into  the  factory  and  mill 
those  industries  which  were  formerly  carried  on  in  the  home. 
Although  woman  has  taken  the  place  of  man  in  certain 
occupations,  many  new  lines  of  activity  have  been  opened 
up  to  man  as  the  result  of  new  inventions  and  new  methods ; 
so  there  seems  to  be  little  need  of  fear  that  woman  will 
supplant  man  to  any  serious  extent  in  the  industrial  field. 

A more  real  danger  is  that,  such  a large  number  of  women 
entering  the  class  of  wage-earners  may  lower  the  general 
level  of  wages,  or  particularly  the  wages  of  the  family. 
Much  of  the  work  that  women  do  is  of  a routine  character, 
and  such  as  does  not  require  a great  amount  of  preparation, 
and  because  of  their  willingness  to  work  for  a lower  wage 
they  tend  to  lower  the  plane  of  competition.  The  fact  that 
women’s  wages  are  lower  than  men’s  in  so  many  occupations 
means  an  underbidding  in  the  labor  market.  This  makes  it 
more  difficult  for  men  to  maintain  their  higher  wage,  partic- 
ularly in  those  fields  in  which  competition  is  keenest.  Again, 
as  we  have  noted  in  connection  with  child  labor,  when  the 
mother  and  children  labor  to  contribute  to  the  family  in- 
come, there  is  always  a tendency  for  the  man’s  wage  to  be 
decreased  proportionately,  and  for  the  family  to  receive  no 
more  than  when  the  wife  and  mother  was  caring  for  the 
home,  and  the  man  was  the  sole  breadwinner  of  the  family.^^ 

Legislation  in  behalf  of  working  women.  — Since  women 
began  to  enter  the  industrial  field  in  such  large  numbers,  a 
great  amount  of  legislation  has  been  passed  in  the  effort  to 


Kindebgarten  Class  for  Mental  Defectives,  Randall’s  Island. 


A Group  of  Morons  at  Work  at  Randall’s  Island. 


m UBWM 
OnHE 
umVERSlTK  8f 


m 


ik: 


Women  in  Industry  91 

better  the  conditions  of  their  employment.  Where  the  legis- 
lation affecting  children  in  industry  has  aimed  primarily  at 
keeping  them  out  of  industry,  that  affecting  women  has  aimed 
rather  at  regulating  the  conditions  under  which  their  labor 
is  carried  on.  Most  of  the  legislation  has  been  directed 
toward  shortening  the  hours  of  labor,  eliminating  night 
work,  increasing  wages,  and  bettering  the  conditions  of  em- 
ployment. 

Realizing  that  the  long  working  day  must  necessarily  have 
a serious  effect  on  the  woman  worker,  a number  of  states 
have  passed  laws  limiting  the  hours  per  day  which  she  shall 
be  permitted  to  work.  In  some  of  the  states  this  number  of 
hours  has  been  gradually  reduced  from  eleven  and  ten  hours 
to  nine  and  eight  hours,  and  more  and  more  industries  have 
been  included  under  these  limitations.  The  Federal  govern- 
ment recently  passed  a law  limiting  the  employment  of 
women  in  various  occupations  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
to  eight  hours  per  day,  and  forty-eight  per  week.  A number 
of  the  states  have  prohibited  women  from  being  employed 
at  night  work  in  the  factories,  or  in  any  capacity  where  in- 
toxicating liquors  are  handled.  Many  states  have  made 
provisions  regarding  the  safeguarding  of  machinery,  pro- 
viding for  good  ventilation,  and  othermse  for  good  sanitary 
conditions,  and  specifying  that  seats  shall  be  provided  where 
possible  so  that  women  will  not  have  to  remain  standing 
during  long  periods  of  time.  Although  many  of  the  states 
are  extremely  slow,  and  still  have  but  inadequate  legislation, 
we  see  in  those  laws  already  enacted  a tendency  toward 
uniformity,  toward  a more  comprehensive  system  of  protec- 
tive legislation,  and  toward  the  provision  of  a more  efficient 
inspectorial  force  and  a consequent  more  effective  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws  on  the  statute  books. 

The  minimum  wage  laws  passed  by  the  several  states  are 
the  most  important  of  all  the  recent  legislation  affecting 
the  woman  wage-earner.  The  first  state  to  pass  such  a law 


92 


Social  Problems 


was  Massachusetts  in  1912.  The  next  year,  eight  more 
states  passed  similar  legislation,  and  still  other  states  pro- 
vided for  commissions  to  investigate  the  whole  question  of  the 
minimum  wage.  A special  emphasis  was  given  to  the  demand 
for  minimum  wage  laws  as  the  result  of  many  investigations 
of  the  wages  of  women.  These  investigations  show  that  a 
very  large  number  of  the  women  wage-earners  are  receiving 
less  than  sufficient  to  supply  them  with  the  ordinary  com- 
forts of  life,  and  that  such  deprivation  is  not  only  a menace 
to  the  individual,  but  also  to  the  welfare  of  society  as  a 
whole.  Brandeis,  in  his  defense  of  the  Oregon  minimum 
wage  law  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  says  that 
the  justification  of  prohibiting  an  employer  from  employ- 
ing women  at  a wage  which  is  less  than  a living  wage  lies  in 
three  facts.  First,  “ Wages  which  are  not  sufficient  to  sup- 
port women  in  health  lead  both  to  bad  health  and  im- 
morality ; hence  they  are  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
state.”  Second,  “ Women  need  protection  against  being 
led  to  work  for  inadequate  wages.”  Third,  “ Adequate 
protection  can  be  given  to  women  only  by  way  of  refusing 
to  allow  them  to  work  for  less  than  living  wages.” 

An  important  principle  underlying  the  theory  of  minimum 
wage  is  that  every  industry  should  be  self-supporting; 
that  is,  that  an  industry  which  is  not  able  to  pay  its  laborers 
a decent  living  wage  is  socially  undesirable,  and  hence  that 
there  is  no  justification  for  the  continuance  of  such  an  in- 
dustry. 

r Although  the  special  feature  of  the  minimum  wage  law, 
that  of  prohibiting  the  employing  of  women  and  minors  at 
a wage  less  than  a living  wage,  is  practically  the  same  in  the 
different  states,  the  scope  of  the  application  of  the  laws  varies 
greatly.  In  some  states  the  law  applies  only  to  specified 
industries,  in  others  to  all  industries;  in  some  states  only 
to  women,  but  in  most  states  to  women  and  to  minors  under 
eighteen  or  under  twenty-one.  In  most  states  these  laws 


Women  in  Industry 


93 


are  administered  by  special  commissions  which  have  the 
power  to  determine  the  living  wage.  Three  of  the  states 
give  these  commissions  also  the  power  to  determine  maximum 
hours  and  other  conditions  of  labor ; and  six  states  give  the 
commission  power  to  enforce  those  parts  of  the  law  relating 
to  wages. 

In  Utah  the  law  itself  fixes  the  minimum  rates,  — for  girls 
under  eighteen,  seventy-five  cents  per  day ; for  women  over 
eighteen  years,  learners  ninety  cents  per  day,  and  experienced 
adult  women  $1.25  per  day.  In  the  states  where  com- 
missions have  decided  upon  a minimum  wage,  they  have 
generally  agreed  upon  from  eight  to  nine  dollars  per  week.^® 
Recent  legislation  in  Kansas  provides  for  an  indus- 
trial welfare  commission  which  shall  establish  for  women 
and  minors  standards  of  wages,  hours,  and  conditions  of 
labor. 

The  constitutionality  of  the  minimum  wage  law  is  still 
pending  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  Brandeis 
compares  the  law  prohibiting  the  employing  of  a woman  for 
a wage  less  than  a living  wage,  with  laws  that  prevent  the 
employing  of  an  engineer  lacking  the  proper  training  from 
securing  a license,  or  that  prohibit  the  employment  of  an 
elevator  tender  under  the  age  of  eighteen  or  twenty  one.^® 
His  brief  submitted  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
on  the  Oregon  case  was  remarkable  in  that  it  said  practically 
nothing  about  legal  precedent,  but  gave  extensive  evidence 
as  to  the  evil  effects  of  low  wages  on  health,  morals,  and 
efficiency.”  Extensive  evidence  was  introduced  showing 
that  inadequate  pay  results  in  damages  to  the  health  through 
inadequate  nourishment  and  lack  of  medical  care;  that 
“ poorly  paid  women  workers  reduce  their  diet  to  the  lowest 
possible  point  in  order  to  provide  from  a scanty  wage, 
lodging  and  clothing  ” ; and  that  ''  while  underpayment 
may  not  be  a primary  cause  of  immorality,  nevertheless, 
low  wages  are  an  important  contributory  factor.” 


94 


Social  Problems 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  employment  of 
women  ? 

2.  Why  has  the  problem  become  so  much  more  serious  in  recent 
times  ? 

3.  How  many  women  in  the  United  States  are  classed  as  wage- 
earners?  This  is  what  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  wage- 
earners  ? 

4.  How  does  this  proportion  vary  in  the  different  sections  ? 

5.  What  occupations  are  open  to  women  now  as  compared  with 
a few  decades  ago  ? 

6.  How  do  women’s  wages  compare  with  men’s? 

7.  What  is  said  regarding  the  inadequacy  of  women’s  wages  ? 

8.  What  are  the  effects  of  low  wages  on  the  women?  On 
society  ? 

9.  What  reasons  are  given  for  the  low  wages  paid  women? 

10.  In  what  way  does  women’s  labor  enter  into  competition 
with  men’s? 

11.  How  does  woman’s  entrance  into  the  industrial  field  tend 
to  lower  the  plane  of  competition? 

12.  TeU  of  some  of  the  legislation  which  has  been  passed  in  the 
effort  to  better  the  conditions  of  employment  of  women. 

13.  Give  a summary  of  the  minimum  wage  legislation  in  the 
United  States. 

14.  What  is  the  justification  of  a minimum  wage?  What  im- 
portant principle  is  said  to  underlie  this  theory  ? 

15.  How  does  the  application  of  the  law  vary  in  the  different 
states  ? 

16.  What  points  were  emphasized  by  Brandeis  in  his  brief 
before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  ? 

REFERENCES 

1.  Census,  1910,  Volume  on  Occupations,  p.  30. 

2.  Census,  1910,  Volume  on  Occupations,  p.  37. 

3.  Wright,  Industrial  Evolution,  p.  202. 

4.  Census,  1910,  Occupations,  p.  91. 

5.  Census,  1910,  Occupations,  p.  57. 

6.  Nearing,  Wages  in  the  United  States,  p.  208. 

7.  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  pp.  411- 

412. 


Women  in  Industry 


95 


8.  Nearing,  p.  214. 

9.  Carlton,  Industrial  Situation,  p.  94. 

10.  Carlton,  History  and  Problems,  p.  411. 

11.  Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems,  p.  396. 

12.  Carlton,  History  and  Problems,  p.  415. 

13.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  p.  217. 

14.  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  57. 

15.  The  Survey,  Feb.  6,  1915,  p.  190. 

16.  New  International  Year  Book,  1914,  “Minimum  Wage.” 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Henry,  The  Trade  Union  Woman. 

Abbott,  Women  in  Industry. 

MacLean,  Wage  Earning  Women. 

Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,  Ch.  XVI. 

Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Ch.  XII. 

Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  Ch.  III. 

Ross,  Changing  America,  Ch.  V. 

Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems,  Chs.  XVII-XIX. 
Carlton,  The  Industrial  Situation,  Ch.  V. 

Hobson,  The  Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism,  Ch.  XII. 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Ch.  XIV. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Ch.  II. 

Webb,  Problems  of  Modern  Industry,  Chs.  II  and  III. 

Goldmark,  Fatigue  and  Efficiency,  Part  II. 

Butler,  “Women  and  the  Trades,”  Pittsburgh  Survey,  Russell 
Sage  Foundation  publication. 

Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  91,  “Working 
Hours  of  Wage-earning  Women  in  Chicago.” 

Report  on  “Condition  of  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the 
United  States,”  Senate  Document  645,  61st  Congress,  2d  Session. 
Van  Vorst,  The  Woman  who  Toils. 

Stanley,  Clubs  for  Working  Girls. 

Stelzle,  American  Social  and  Religious  Conditions,  Ch.  IV. 
Publications,  Committee  on  Women’s  Work  of  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation. 

Literature,  National  League  of  Women  Workers,  35  E.  30th  St., 
New  York  City. 

Literature,  National  Women’s  Trade  Union  League  of  America, 
127  N.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  SWEATING  SYSTEM 

I.  Introduction. 

II.  The  system  described. 

1.  Conditions  leading  to  the  sweating  system. 

2.  The  contractor,  or  sweater. 

3.  The  sweat  shop  workers. 

4.  Kinds  of  sweat  shops. 

III.  Industries  in  which  the  system  flourishes. 

IV.  Causes. 

1.  Nature  of  the  industry. 

2.  Nature  of  the  available  labor  supply. 

V.  Evils  of  the  system. 

1.  Long  hours. 

2.  Low  wages. 

3.  Insanitary  conditions  of  labor. 

4.  Spreading  of  diseases. 

5.  The  “speeding-up”  process. 

6.  Subdivision  of  labor  to  a minute  degree. 

7.  Lack  of,  and  difficulty  of,  inspection. 

8.  Individual  and  social  effects  of  the  sweating  system. 

VI.  Present  status. 

VII.  Attempts  at  control  in  the  past. 

VIII.  Remedies  proposed. 

1.  Legislation. 

2.  Organization. 

3.  A more  even  seasonal  distribution  of  work. 

4.  Factories. 

5.  Education. 

IX.  Conclusion. 

Great  changes  have  taken  place  within  the  last  few  years 
in  industry.  The  development  of  the  factory  system  has 
revolutionized  not  only  methods  of  work,  but  also  social 
conditions  growing  out  of  the  new  adjustments  of  labor  and 

96 


The  Sweating  System 


97 


capital.  Many  advantages  have  come  along  with  the  intro- 
duction of  the  system,  and  production  has  been  increased 
many  fold.  The  manufacturing  industries  have  largely 
been  taken  from  the  home  and  centered  in  the  factory. 
There  were  great  economic  gains  in  this  because  goods  could 
be  produced  much  more  cheaply  when  made  in  large  quan- 
tities. While  most  industries  were  being  absorbed  by  the 
large  factories,  there  were  certain  ones  which  did  not  yield 
so  readily  to  these  newer  methods  because  of  their  charac- 
teristics. These  industries,  or  certain  parts  of  them,  could  be 
carried  on  more  cheaply  in  the  home  or  in  the  small  work- 
shop. This  made  possible  the  employment  of  the  cheapest 
labor,  including  that  of  women  and  children.  This  phase  of 
industry  with  the  serious  problems  growing  out  of  this  method 
of  employment,  has  been  called  the  sweating  system. 

The  system  described.  — ■ The  term  sweating  system  has 
been  used  to  describe  “ a condition  of  labor  in  which  a maxi- 
mum amount  of  work  in  a given  time  is  performed  for  a mini- 
mum wage,  and  in  which  the  ordinary  rules  of  health  and 
comfort  are  disregarded.’'  ^ It  will  be  seen  from  this  defini- 
tion that  the  essential  factors  of  the  system  are  low  wages, 
long  hours,  and  working  under  insanitary  conditions. 

Conditions  leading  to  the  sweating  system.  — ■ The  conditions 
which  not  only  make  possible,  but  encourage,  the  sweating 
system  are,  first,  a crowded  population  in  large  cities ; second, 
high  rent ; and,  third,  contract  work.^  The  crowded  popula- 
tion in  the  larger  cities  offers  a large,  available  amount  of 
labor  which  can  be  secured  at  a very  low  price.  A large 
foreign  population  naturally  industrious  and  thrifty,  where 
the  women  and  children  and  often  the  men  have  no  regular 
work,  is  easily  exploited  by  the  sweater,  and  offers  many 
victims  to  this  grinding  system.  Where  the  rents  are  so 
extremely  high  as  they  are  in  localities  where  the  sweating 
system  operates,  every  bit  of  space  must  be  most  carefully 
utilized.  It  is  not  that  the  people  like  to  live  under  such 


Social  Problems 


98 

crowded  conditions,  but  they  cannot  afford  the  extra  rooms, 
and  are  thus  compelled  to  combine  the  kitchen,  bedroom, 
living  room,  and  workshop,  in  order  to  save  rent.  High 
rents  also  drive  them  into  buildings  which  are  far  from 
sanitary,  often  compelling  them  to  utilize  a garret  or  a loft 
over  a stable,  even  though  these  places  may  be  a most  serious 
menace  to  the  health  of  the  worker.  Contract  work,  and 
even  subcontracting,  has  always  been  associated  with 
sweat  shop  work.  It  is  through  the  contract  that  the  work 
is  parceled  out  to  the  various  homes  and  shops. 

The  contractor j or  sweater,  is  one  who  makes  a special  busi- 
ness of  employing  immigrants.  The  man  best  fitted  to  be 
a contractor,  or  sweater,  is  said  to  be  the  man  who  is  well 
acquainted  T^th  his  neighbors,  who  is  able  to  speak  the  lan- 
guages of  several  classes  of  immigrants,  who  can  easily 
persuade  his  neighbors  or  their  wives  and  children  to  work 
for  him,  and  in  this  way  can  obtain  the  cheapest  help.’'  ^ 
He  has  no  connection  with  the  business  interests,  but  acts 
as  a go-between  for  the  manufacturer.  His  sphere  is  that  of 
middleman  or  agent  of  the  manufacturer,  employed  because 
of  his  ability  to  get  cheap  labor.  He  succeeds  “ because  he 
lives  among  the  poorest  class  of  people,  knows  them  per- 
sonally, knows  their  circumstances,  and  can  drive  the  hardest 
kind  of  a bargain.”  ^ 

The  sweat  shop  workers.  — Because  of  the  nature  of  the  in- 
dustries adapted  to  the  sweating  system,  the  system  draws 
its  largest  number  of  workers  from  the  more  recently  arrived 
of  the  immigrants.  As  the  population  in  our  large  cities 
has  become  more  congested,  the  successive  elements  in  our 
immigration,  with  their  constant  lowering  of  standards  of 
living,  have  offered  a fertile  field  of  exploitation  for  the 
sweater.  Each  succeeding  wave  of  immigrants,  with  their 
lower  standards,  has  displaced  the  former  immigrants  in 
these  occupations.  The  tailor  trade  was  first  carried  on 
largely  by  the  English  and  Scotch.  When  the  Irish  began  to 


The  Sweating  System 


99 


come  in  such  large  numbers  in  1850,  a number  of  these 
went  into  the  clothing  business,  only  to  be  succeeded  later 
by  the  Germans.  The  great  increase,  together  with  the 
change  in  personnel  of  the  immigrants  in  the  eighties,  gave  an 
added  impetus  to  this  system.  By  the  end  of  this  decade 
the  Jews  had  gained  almost  complete  control  of  the  clothing 
industry  in  New  York.  The  Germans  and  Austrian  Jews 
came  first,  and  later  the  Russian  and  Polish  Jews.  More 
recently  the  Italians  have  entered  this  industry  in  large 
numbers.  In  many  instances  they  have  been  able  to  under- 
bid the  Russian  Jew,  and  their  earnings  “ are  reported  as 
meager,  their  poverty  extreme,  and  the  conditions  of  work 
most  wretched.”  ^ The  sweated  industries  are  characterized 
by  their  employment  of  a large  proportion  of  female  labor,® 
and  most  of  the  women  employed  are  married. 

As  the  work  is  carried  on  in  the  home,  it  has  been  impossible 
to  determine  the  exact  number  of  children  who  have  been 
employed  under  these  conditions,  although  all  investigations 
have  found  many  children  employed.  Not  infrequently 
little  ones  of  three  and  four  years  of  age  have  been  found  in 
these  crowded  quarters,  amid  most  unhealthful  surroundings, 
helping  their  parents  and  thus  adding  a few  cents  a week  to 
the  family  income.  As  the  young  girls  reach  maturity,  they 
prefer  the  factory  or  store,  as  the  work  is  less  monotonous, 
the  hours  shorter,  and  the  chance  for  mingling  with  other 
persons  is  increased. 

Kinds  of  sweat  shops.  — The  two  most  important  kinds  of 
sweat  shops  are  the  home  and  the  small  shop.  One  of  the 
worst  types  of  sweat  shop  labor  is  that  carried  on  in  the 
homes.  In  the  crowded  quarters,  where  we  often  find 
a large  family  occupying  not  more  than  one  or  two  rooms, 
and  at  this  often  taking  roomers  and  boarders,  the  work  is 
carried  on  under  almost  indescribable  conditions.  An  even 
more  serious  phase  of  the  home  work  is  the  employment  of 
a number  of  outsiders,  who  often  live  right  with  the  family. 


lOO 


Social  Problems 


In  such  homes  “ unclean  and  unhealthful  conditions  are  in- 
evitable, and  the  close  association  of  from  six  to  fifteen 
persons  in  one  small  unyentilated  room  renders  the  spread 
of  contagion,  as  well  as  the  danger  of  disease,  a constant 
menace/’  ® 

The  small  shops  which  are  often  used  as  workrooms 
afford  conditions  but  little  better  than  those  found  in  the 
homes.  The  shops  are  “ sometimes  connected  with  the  living 
rooms  of  the  sweater,  . . . and  are  frequently  in  rear  tene- 
ments or  barns  which  have  been  condemned  as  unfit  for 
human  habitation.”  ® 

Another  phase  of  the  clothing  industry,  not  so  serious  of 
itself,  but  serious  because  of  its  results,  is  the  sending  of 
packages  of  clothing  out  into  the  country,  to  be  finished  by 
farmers’  wives  and  daughters.  It  is  not  that  the  conditions 
under  which  this  work  is  carried  on  are  bad,  but  these  workers, 
not  being  dependent  upon  what  they  earn,  but  merely  anxious 
for  a little  extra  pin  money  and  working  only  in  their  spare 
moments,  can  do  the  work  at  much  less  than  a living  wage. 
This  sort  of  competition  makes  it  extremely  difficult  for 
those  in  the  city,  who  have  no  other  sources  of  income,  to 
make  a living  wage,  and  it  tends  to  make  the  conditions  in 
the  sweat  shops  still  worse. 

Industries  in  which  the  system  flourishes.  — The  clothing 
industry  is  by  far  the  most  important  of  all  the  sweated  in- 
dustries. This  industry  affords  unusual  opportunities  for 
the  sweater  to  ply  his  trade,  in  that  many  parts  of  this  work 
can  be  sent  to  the  home.  While  most  of  the  newer  industries 
can  be  carried  on  more  advantageously  through  the  use  of  a 
large  amount  of  machinery,  in  the  making  of  clothing  a large 
amount  of  handwork  is  required,  and  the  rest  of  the  work 
requires  no  more  capital  than  the  small  amount  necessary 
to  purchase  a sewing  machine.  This  makes  it  possible  for 
the  clothing  maker  to  utilize  the  cheap  labor  of  the  poor 
people.  Among  the  various  other  sweated  industries,  may 


(JouTi.esy  i\  aicoruu  (Jnua  i^abor  Commiuee 
Why  Paper  Flowers  are  Cheap. 


Courtesy  National  Child  cabor  Committee 


Home  or  Factory  ? 


The  Sweating  System 


lOI 


be  mentioned  the  making  of  artificial  flowers,  shelling  nuts, 
stringing  beads,  putting  buttons  on  cards,  millinery  work, 
sewing  neckties,  covering  buttons,  tying  willow  plumes, 
making  false  hair  switches,  tying  cords  in  pencils  for  souvenir 
cards,  and  sometimes  the  manufacture  of  cigars  and  ciga- 
, rettes.^  It  will  be  seen  from  this  list,  that  many  of  these  are 
adapted  to  the  work  of  small  children,  and  that  aged  people 
or  semi-invalids  can  frequently  assist  somewhat  in  certain 
parts  of  the  work,  thus  affording  an  added  inducement  to 
take  work  into  the  homes. 

Causes.  — There  are  two  principal  causes  for  the  growth 
of  the  sweating  system.  One  is  the  nature  of  the  industry, 
and  the  other,  the  nature  of  the  available  labor  supply. 

Nature  of  the  industry.  — ■ Because  of  the  economic  ad- 
vantages of  these  small-scale  productions,  it  has  been  very 
difficult  either  to  eliminate  or  to  control  this  work  in  the 
tenements.  In  the  lines  of  work  mentioned  as  particularly 
suitable  for  the  sweat  shop,  the  very  fact  that  all  grades  of 
unskilled  labor  can  be  utilized  has  made  this  a difficult  prob- 
lem. On  the  one  hand,  there  is  keen  competition,  driving 
the  employer  to  seek  the  cheapest  possible  labor;  on  the 
other,  there  are  great  numbers  of  laborers,  helpless  and 
entirely  dependent  upon  their  daily  earnings.  Another 
characteristic  of  most  of  these  industries  is  that  they  are 
seasonal.  There  is  a much  greater  demand  for  some  of  these 
products  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  It  is  consequently 
advantageous  to  the  employer  to  have  a large  amount  of 
labor  available  when  he  needs  it,  which  he  will  not  have 
to  carry  on  his  payroll  at  other  times.  At  such  times, 
knowing  where  the  labor  can  be  secured,  he  simply  takes  the 
work  in  quantities  to  these  homes  and  shops,  where  it  is 
completed,  and  then  returned  to  him.  In  this  way  he  does 
not  have  to  have  large  buildings  or  expensive  machinery 
standing  idle  through  the  slack  seasons,  and  his  expense  for 
rent  thus  falls  upon  the  workers. 


102 


Social  Problems 


Nature  of  the  available  labor  supply.  — To  fill  just  this 
demand,  created  by  these  particular  industries,  there  is  the 
large  group  of  recently  arrived  immigrants  of  low  competitive 
ability.  These  immigrants,  in  a new  country,  under  entirely 
new  conditions,  are  ignorant  of  our  language  and  customs 
and  of  the  possibilities  of  labor.  Most  of  them  are  from  the 
southern  and  eastern  sections  of  Europe  where  the  percent- 
age of  illiteracy  is  very  great,  and  where  but  very  few  have 
had  any  industrial  training.  Their  standards  of  life  have 
been  exceedingly  low,  and  coming  here  as  immigrants,  the 
little  capital  they  may  have  had  has  become  largely  ex- 
hausted, and  they  feel  quite  helpless.  They  have  not  yet 
learned  the  strength  of  bargaining  power  through  coopera- 
tion. Their  very  ignorance  and  helplessness  make  them  an 
easy  prey  to  the  shrewd  contractor. 

Evils  of  the  sweating  system.  — Long  hours.  — An  aroused 
public  conscience  through  persistent  effort  has  been  able  to 
regulate  with  a reasonable  degree  of  success  the  hours  of  labor 
in  factories.  It  is  quite  a different  problem,  however,  to 
control  the  working  hours  in  the  home.  In  many  of  these 
shops  it  was  found  that  the  various  members  of  the  family, 
including  the  children,  often  worked  from  ten  to  sixteen  hours, 
and  even  longer,  a day.  Because  of  the  number  of  homes 
where  such  work  is  carried  on,  it  has  been  very  difficult  to 
control  working  conditions.  This  control  will  be  hard  to 
effect  until  all  manufacturing  in  tenements  is  prohibited  by 
law.  It  has  been  difficult  to  secure  proper  legislation  because 
of  the  great  profits  from  the  employment  of  cheap  labor,  and 
because  of  the  large  number  anxious  for  employment  regard- 
less of  wages  or  conditions. 

Low  wages.  — The  wages  in  all  of  the  sweated  industries 
are  extremely  low.  This  might  be  expected  from  the  nature 
of  the  work  and  the  class  of  laborers  involved.  It  is  an  un- 
skilled, cheap  grade  of  labor,  the  laborers  having  little  com- 
petitive ability.  They  work  to  supplement  the  family  in- 


The  Sweating  System 


103 


come,  and  their  wages  are  driven  down  to  the  barest  possible 
cost  of  subsistence.  Many  examples  have  been  given  by 
investigators,  of  almost  inconceivable  prices ; such  as  making 
roses  and  violets  from  three  to  eight  cents  a gross,  making 
baby  dresses  at  forty-five  cents  a dozen,  and  kimonos  at 
four  cents  a dozen.  Sorting  and  mounting  buttons  on  cards 
is  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  two  cents  for  a dozen  cards.  Plait- 
ing hat  straw  is  done  for  ten  cents  the  dozen  yards.  Willow 
plumes  are  tied  at  the  rate  of  forty-one  knots  for  a cent.  In 
many  of  these  tasks  the  mother,  with  perhaps  two  or  three 
children  assisting,  would  be  able  to  earn  from  thirty  to  sixty 
cents  a day  by  working  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours.^ 

Insanitary  conditions.  — The  rhany  investigations } that 
have  been  made  in  regard  to  the  sweat  shops  have  been 
unanimous  in  speaking  of  the  wretched  condition  within  these 
places.  They  are  invariably  found  in  the  most  crowded 
quarters  of  the  cities,  in  old  tenement  buildings  utterly  lack- 
ing in  modern  conveniences.  Families  of  from  three  to  five 
or  more  are  found  living  in  two-  and  three-room  apartments, 
in  small  rooms  poorly  lighted  and  poorly  ventilated,  with 
walls  and  floors  often  out  of  repair.  For  entire  families  to 
work,  cook,  eat,  and  sleep  under  such  conditions  as  these, 
working  long  hours  and  often  seven  days  of  the  week,  in  close 
unventilated  rooms,  means  a condition  of  labor  that  is  not 
only  a menace  to  health,  but  to  all  home  life. 

Spreading  of  disease.  — As  is  to  be  expected,  such  places 
are  found  to  be  the  breeding  places  of  disease,  and  through 
the  work  that  is  done  there  on  all  kinds  of  garments,  diseases 
may  be  spread  to  the  most  remote  sections.  Investigators 
have  told  us  of  finding  garments  piled  on  the  bed  of  those 
suffering  with  diphtheria  and  smallpox ; of  costly  coats  be- 
ing finished  off  by  those  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption  ,* 
and  of  children’s  garments  being  made  in  rooms  where  chil- 
dren were  lying  ill  with  scarlet  fever  and  other  contagious 
diseases.  The  material  used  in  this  tenement  manufacture 


104 


Social  Problems 


is  particularly  adapted  to  the  carrying  of  all  kinds  of  germs, 
and  even  vermin  have  been  discovered  in  sweat  shop  goods. 
Nor  do  the  more  costly  garments  escape  this  possibility. 
Many  of  the  cheaper  garments,  such  as  overalls  and  working- 
men’s  blouses,  are  now  made  almost  exclusively  in  the  fac- 
tory, while  some  of  the  most  expensive  garments,  requiring 
hand  finishing,  are  sent  to  the  sweat  shops  for  completion. 
Not  infrequently  expensive  suitings,  overcoats,  women’s 
and  children’s  clothing  of  the  finest  quality  were  found 
being  finished  in  such  quarters,  and  in  direct  contact  with 
various  diseases.  “ In  Chicago  a tailor  .was  found  working 
upon^an  evening  coat  of  the  finest  quality,  while  five  feet 
away  from  his  table,  his  son  lay*  dying  of  typhoid  fever,  and 
another  tailor  was  found  working  on  a good  summer  over- 
coat in  the  same  room  in  which  there  was  a patient  dying  of 
smallpox.  In  the  latter  case  the  coat  was  marked  with  the 
name  of  a custom  tailor  in  Helena,  Montana.”  ® Not  in- 
frequently such  a disease  as  smallpox  has  broken  out  in  com- 
munities, and  the  local  authorities  have  been  quite  unable 
to  determine  its  source.  Such  diseases  may  have  come 
directly  through  the  wearing  of  clothing  which  had  been  fin- 
ished in  the  sweat  shop. 

The  “ speeding-up  ” process.  — Whenever  we  have  an  ele- 
ment in  labor  weak  in  bargaining  power,  the  speeding-up 
process  is  carried  to  the  greatest  extreme.  The  sweater,  in 
search  of  the  cheapest  possible  labor,  offers  work  at  succes- 
sively lower  rates  per  piece,  or  per  task,  which  the  worker, 
in  his  or  her  helplessness,  feels  it  necessary  to  accept  for  the 
small  pittance  that  it  adds  to  the  family  income.  “ Driv- 
ing ” is  said  to  be  the  characteristic  of  every  sweat  shop.  A 
good  illustration  of  bargain  driving  is  found  in  the  con- 
stantly lowered  prices  for  widowing  ostrich  feathers.  Sev- 
eral years  ago,  when  the  trade  started,  few  knew  how  to 
willow,  and  15  cents  was  paid  for  tying  one  set  of  knots  (one 
inch).  The  following  season  more  workers  were  in  the 


The  Sweating  System  105 

field,  and  the  price  went  down  to  13  cents  an  inch.  Then  it 
dropped  to  11  cents,  9 cents,  7 cents,  5 cents,  and  finally 
the  workers  received  but  3 cents  an  inch.’’  10  A similar 
driving  down  of  wages  is  found  in  other  kinds  of  sweated 
work,  and  has  resulted  in  the  speeding  up  of  the  workers 
until  far  more  is  required  of  them  than  what  would  constitute 
a normal  day’s  work. 

^ Subdivision  of  labor  to  a minute  degree.  — There  is  no  other 
line  of  work  which  admits  of  such  minute  division  of  labor 
as  do  the  sweated  industries.  The  work  is  simple,  and  does 
not  involve  the  use  of  complex  machinery.  Elderly  people 
unable  to  do  a full  day’s  work,  are  able  to  do  part  of  this  work. 
Cripples  and  people  on  sick  beds  are  found  assisting  in  the 
various  tasks.  Little  children  three,  four,  and  five  years  old 
are  often  found  helping  in  the  simple  processes  such  as  pull- 
ing out  bastings,  sorting  and  sewing  buttons  on  cards,  separat- 
ing flower  petals,  and  cutting  out  embroideries.  Several 
children  of  seven  years  of  age  were  found  tying  the  knots  in 
willow  pluming.^i 

Lack  of,  and  difficulty  of , inspection. — Because  of  the  scat- 
tered workrooms  and  homes,  where  the  sweated  industries 
are  carried  on,  both  in  licensed  and  unlicensed  tenements, 
it  IS  almost  impossible  to  secure  any  adequate  inspection. 
The  laws  on  the  subject  usually  refer  only,  to  the  manu- 
facture of  certain  articles  in  licensed  tenements.  Thus  the 
manufacture  of.  articles  not  specifically  mentioned  in  these 
laws  IS  permitted  without  any  inspection  at  all  in  any  kind  of 
a tenement.  Then,  again,  there  has  been  little  money  appro- 
priated for  inspection,  and  in  New  York  where  the  law  pro- 
vides for  two  inspections  yearly  of  those  tenements  licensed 
for  manufacturing,  there  is,  in  fact,  only  one  regular  inspec- 
tion. These  inspections  coming  at  such  long  intervals  and 
covering  only  certain  industries  have  proved  very  inadequate, 
and  are  extremely  unsatisfactory  to  those  who  are  interested 
m the  bettering  of  sweat  shop  conditions.  12 


io6 


Social  Problems 


Individual  and  social  effects  of  the  sweating  system.  — 
Working  under  such  conditions  as  have  been  described  as 
characteristic  of  the  sweat  shop,  in  the  crowded,  ill-ventilated 
rooms,  and  at  excessive  speed,  affects  the  health  of  the 
workers  to  such  an  extent  that  “ it  is  rare  to  find,  after  four 
or  five  years,  any  healthy  person  there.”  Sweat  shops  are 
the  best  possible  breeding  places  for  consumption.  Young 
children  are  particularly  susceptible  to  disease,  and  many 
are  found  suffering  from  curvature  of  the  spine,  pulmonary 
diseases,  weakened  eyesight,  and  other  ailments  from  which 
they  never  recover.  They  become  stunted,  and  lack  the  nor- 
mal energy  of  children.  Men  and  women  who  have  entered 
the  sweated  industries  in  their  youth  suffer  from  old  age  at 
from  35  to  40  years  of  age. Periods  of  overwork  followed 
by  long  periods  of  unemployment  often  lead  to  insanity  and 
cause  many  suicides  among  the  garment  workers.^^ 

The  entire  family  living  in  one  or  two  rooms  prevents  the 
privacy  of  a normal  home  life.  The  bringing  of  these  hired 
workers  into  the  working  and  living  rooms  of  the  family 
tends  to  lower  the  moral  standards  of  the  children  as  well  as 
of  the  others  within  the  house. 

Anything  that  weakens  the  physical  and  moral  status  of 
large  numbers  of  workers  is  a serious  menace  to  society. 
Children  of  the  sweat  shop  are  unfitted  for  taking  their  normal 
place  in  society.  Working  in  the  home  in  this  way,  and  for 
such  long  hours,  prevents  the  worker  from  mingling  with 
other  people,  from  learning  the  language,  and  from  becojning 
familiar  with  the  customs  of  the  country.  In  this  way  the 
sweater  is  said  to  be  “ an  important  factor  in  causing  and 
continuing  segregation  of  nationalities  within  our  large 
cities.”  The  low  wages  paid  for  but  brief  seasons  of  the 
year  leave  a large  number  of  these  workers  helpless  during 
the  slack  season,  at  which  time  they  have  to  be  helped  out 
through  the  aid  of  charity,  thus  making  paupers  of  many  who 
are  willing  to  work.  The  presence  of  this  large  amount  of 


The  Sweating  System 


107 

available  and  cheap  labor  has  retarded  the  introduction  of 
new  machinery  and  new  methods  into  this  industry.  Be- 
cause of  the  many  serious  effects  on  the  individual,  and  the 
menace  to  society  of  the  conditions  which  exist  in  these  trades, 
every  effort  must  be  made  to  eliminate  the  sweat  shop  from 
our  industrial'  system. 

Present  status.  — Although  we  have  no  exact  statistics 
in  regard  to  the  amount  of  home  work  done,  or  the  number 
of  persons  employed  in  this  kind  of  work,  we  do  know  that 
there  are  some  13,000  tenement  houses  in  New  York  that 
are  hcensed  by  the  Bureau  of  Factory  Inspection.  In  these 
licensed  tenement  houses,  work  can  be  given  out  by  the  con- 
tractor, to  be  made  or  finished  in  the  homes  where  the  labor 
of  all  members  of  the  family  can  be  utilized  without  reference 
to  age  or  factory  law.”  Although  many  cities  have  sweating 
conditions.  New  York  is  said  to  be  the  center  of  this  system 
m this  country.  A recent  investigation  showed  that  in  this 
city,  one  block  alone  contained  seventy-seven  factories  and 
employed  40,000  workers.  This  part  of  the  city  is  called 
the  leading  clothing  center  of  the  world.  In  some  blocks, 
more  than  three  quarters  of  the  apartments  contained  home 
finishers.  Two  of  these  congested  blocks  are  said  to  be  “ the 
poorest  visited  in  New  York,  to  have  the  dirtiest  homes, 
lowest  standards  of  living,  and  the  highest  disease  and  death 
rate  of  any  section  of  the  city.” 

Attempts  at  control  in  the  past.  — About  the  middle  of  the 
eighties,  the  people  began  to  be  aroused  over  the  evils  of 
the  sweat  shop.  Since  that  time  some  twelve  states  have 
passed  laws  attempting  to  regulate,  to  a greater  or  less  extent, 
work  in  the  tenements.^^  Some  of  the  principal  restrictions 
imposed  by  these  laws  were  the  requiring  of  tenements 
wherein  certain  industries  were  carried  on,  to  be  licensed,  and 
providing  that  no  one  of  a list  of  articles  should  be  manufac- 
tured in  tenements  without  this  license.  The  permit  is  to 
be  granted  only  after  the  building  has  been  inspected  and 


io8 


Social  Problems 


found  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  ventilation,  heating, 
and  lighting,  and  may  be  revoked  at  any  time  on  the  advice 
of  the  inspector.  Other  legislation  prohibits  the  performing 
of  certain  kinds  of  work  in  sleeping  rooms,  or  in  rooms  not 
having  a separate  outside  entrance  except  in  case  of  work 
performed  wholly  by  members  of  the  family.”  Most  of  the 
laws  apply  to  particular  industries,  and  consequently  such 
industries  as  are  not  in  the  list  are  not  subject  to  regulation. 
This  leaves  a number  of  occupations  free  from  all  control 
by  the  factory  inspector.  The  earlier  attempts  to  check 
these  evils  through  legislation  were  often  nullified,  many  of 
the  acts  being  declared  unconstitutional.  The  grounds  given 
were  that  “ they  interfered  with  the  freedom  of  the  home,” 
or  that  they  did  not  have  “ the  justification  of  being  a police 
measure  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  the  public.” 
Recent  decisions  have  been  more  favorable,  however,  in  that 
they  have  recognized  the  power  of  the  state  to  interfere  in 
matters  that  affect  the  welfare  of  the  people. 

Remedies  proposed.  — Legislation.  — The  measures  taken 
so  far  have  not  been  very  effective.  What  we  need,  to  rid 
the  cities  of  these  places  and  of  this  menace,  is,  first,  legisla- 
tion. More  sanitary  workshops  must  be  required,  with  con- 
ditions coming  up  to  the  ordinary  requirements  of  health  as 
to  light,  heat,  ventilation,  and  cleanliness.  Men  and  women 
must  not  be  allowed  to  work  in  the  same  rooms  where  people 
are  sick  with  contagious  diseases,  on  articles  which  will  pass 
into  homes  in  all  parts  of  our  country.  These  measures  for 
sanitation  must  not  only  be  made  more  comprehensive,  but 
they  must  be  strictly  enforced.  This,  as  has  been  mentioned 
before,  is  a very  difficult  matter  as  long  as  men  and  women  are 
allowed  to  make  workshops  of  their  homes,  and  the  ultimate 
solution  of  the  problem  will  probably  not  be  reached  until  all 
manufacturing  in  tenements  is  prohibited  by  law. 

One  of  the  reasons  employers  give  for  clinging  to  this 
method  of  manufacture  is  the  abundance  of  cheap  labor. 


The  Sweating  System 


109 


They  claim  that  there  are  many  more  people  of  the  lower 
classes,  or  immigrant  classes,  who  desire  this  work  than  can 
be  supplied  with  it.  If  this  is  so,  the  restrictive  immigration 
legislation  which  is  being  called  for  at  the  present  time 
will  help  in  reducing  the  number  of  people  who  will  accept 
work  on  the  terms  offered  in  the  sweating  system. 

Legislation  must  be  passed  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  in 
these  industries,  and  such  laws  must  be  rigidly  enforced. 

At  present  there  seems  to  be  no  lower  limit  to  the  amount 
that  is  paid  for  work.  The  amount  the  worker  receives 
depends  on  what  he  or  she  can  be  made  to  take,  by  such  argu- 
ments of  the  sweater  as,  “ Do  these  for  4 cents  a dozen,  or 
leave  them.  There  are  many  men  and  women  in  this  block 
who  will  work  at  this  price  and  be  glad  of  the  chance.” 
Ground  down  to  this  level,  the  only  way  for  the  immigrant 
is  to  take  the  work ; and  the  only  escape  from  this  condition 
will  come  through  some  form  of  a minimum  wage  law. 

Organization.  — from  the  gains  that  might  be  ef- 

fected through  legislation,  are  those  that  would  come  from 
some  definite  organization  of  the  sweat  shop  workers.  So 
far,  this  has  been  almost  impossible  because  the  workers  have 
been  so  scattered.  They  have,  as  a rule,  been  too  ignorant 
even  to  realize  the  benefits  that  would  come  as  the  result  of 
some  form  of  organization.  They  have  been  kept,  by  the 
nature  of  their  work,  from  a knowledge  of  the  outside  world, 
and  from  the  realization  of  their  own  abject  condition,  as  well 
as  of  the  fact  that  there  are  thousands  of  others  suffering  just 
as  they  are.  In  the  past,  these  workers  have  had  little  bar- 
gaining power  because  of  their  lack  of  organization.  A 
thorough  organization  of  these  workers  would  enable  them 
to  make  more  effective  demands  for  higher  wages  and  for 
better  labor  conditions. 

A more  even  seasonal  distribution.  — One  of  the  worst  evils 
of  the  system  is,  as  has  been  stated  before,  the  seasonal  char- 
acter of  the  work  done  in  sweat  shops.  Thus  this  should  be 


no 


Social  Problems 


one  of  the  points  of  attack.  In  the  case  of  an  industry  con- 
trolled by  the  dictates  of  fashion,  as  is  the  clothing  industry, 
it  is  hard  to  overcome  the  seasonal  character  of  the  work. 
But  attempts  are  being  made  by  some  manufacturers  to  make 
certain  articles  of  clothing  that  are  stable,  and  for  which  the 
demand  is  quite  even,  in  the  slack  seasons,  leaving  the 
workers  free  to  work  on  the  garments  of  the  new  fashions  in 
the  formerly  very  rushed  seasons.  This  helps  conditions  to 
some  extent,  but  at  best  it  only  touches  the  edges  of  the  real 
question. 

Factories.  — The  modern  movement  toward  the  factory 
system  will  tend  to  the  elimination  of  many  of  the  evils  of  the 
sweat  shop  and  home  workshop.  Coats  and  suits  should 
not  be  finished,  hand  embroidery  should  not  be  done,  nut 
meats  should  not  be  picked  over,  nor  should  flowers  and 
plumes  be  made,  in  the  tenement  homes  and  shops  without 
supervision,  and  under  the  conditions  of  filth  and  disease 
which  prevail  there.  In  the  factory,  conditions  may  be 
prescribed  and  regulated.  In  this  respect,  they  are  an  im- 
provement over  the  sweat  shops.  But  certain  evils  of  the 
sweating  system  have  followed  these  industries  into  the  fac- 
tory, and  even  there  we  find  the  speeding-up  process,  and  the 
low  wage.  However,  the  large,  well-supervised,  and  well- 
organized  factories  now  developing  are  a great  improvement 
over  the  sweat  shops. 

Education  of  the  employer.  — Fundamentally,  education  is 
the  crying  need  in  the  solution  of  the  problem.  There  must 
be  education,  first,  of  the  employer,  until  he  has  arrived  at  the 
point  where  he  will  furnish  workrooms  for  all  his  workers, 
and  where  he  can  truthfully  say,  “ All  articles  are  made  in 
our  own  factory.” 

Education  of  the  employee.  — Then  comes  the  education  of 
the  employee,  and  this  means  a more  complicated  task,  for 
the  sweat  shop  worker  himself  has  no  time  even  to  learn  the 
language  and  the  customs  of  the  new  land  to  which  he  has 


Ill 


The  Sweating  System 

come.  Immigrants  must  be  helped,  when  they  first  come, 
to  choose  their  work,  and  must  be  given  the  opportunity  for 
some  social  life,  if  not  for  education  itself.  Attention  is  being 
centered  on  the  children  of  the  sweat  shop  workers.  The 
toilers  themselves  are  often  willing  to  work  even  longer  and 
harder,  that  their  children  may  go  to  school  and  thus  avoid 
choosing  the  same  occupation  that  has  made  their  own  lives 
only  drudgery.  Vocational  training  and  vocational  guidance 
will  help  the  young  person  into  better  conditions  of  employ- 
ment. Compulsory  education,  if  enforced,  will  hold  the  child 
longer  in  school,  give  him  a greater  familiarity  with  our 
language  and  customs,  and  in  every  way  make  him  better 
fitted  to  cope  with  industrial  conditions. 

Education  of  the  'public.  — The  most  necessary  of  all  lines 
of  action  is  the  education  of  the  public.  With  this  will  come 
the  other  needed  reforms,  and  the  legislation  necessary  to 
make  them  uniform  and  universal.  The  trade  unions  have 
been  doing  some  work  along  this  line,  by  the  use  of  the  Union 
Label.  This  labed  is  only  granted  to  those  whose  goods 
fulfil  certain  requirements  of  manufacture.  The  Consumers’ 
League  is  probably  the  most  effective  instrument  that  we 
have  for  the  public  education,  as  well  as  for  the  protection  of 
the  consumer.  The  national  league  was  organized  in  1899 
for  the  purpose  of  arousing  public  sentiment  against  the  evils 
of  the  sweat  shop,  and  taking  as  its  basis  the  fact  that  every 
consumer  has  a right  to  know  what  he  is  buying  in  the  way 
of  food  and  clothing,  and  a right  to  know  where  it  came  from. 
In  order  that  the  workers  shall  receive  at  least  a living  wage, 
and  that  sanitary  conditions  shall  exist  wherever  goods  are 
produced  or  manufactured,  this  League  issues  the  Consumers’ 
League  Label  to  those  manufacturers  living  up  to  the  follow- 
ing conditions : 21 

1.  The  State  Factory  Law  is  obeyed. 

2.  All  goods  are  made  in  premises  approved  by  the 
League. 


II2 


Social  Problems 


3.  Overtime  work  is  not  permitted. 

4.  Children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  are  not  employed. 

Conclusion.  — At  the  present  time  there  are  hopeful  signs 

regarding  the  possibilities  of  lessening  these  evils.  As  the 
clothing  industry  becomes  more  standardized,  which  is  in- 
evitable with  the  increasing  amount  of  ready-made  clothing, 
more  and  more  of  this  work  will  be  carried  on  in  the  factory 
where  there  are  greater  possibilities  of  inspection  and  control. 
Recent  legislation  regulating  the  employment  of  women  and 
children,  limiting  the  hours  of  labor,  and  particularly  that 
establishing  the  minimum  wage,  has  shown  that  it  is  possible 
to  better  these  conditions.  Other  legislation,  such  as  the  re- 
cent tenement  house  laws,  laws  providing  for  parks  and  play- 
grounds, compulsory  education  laws,  in  fact,  all  laws  aiming 
at  the  betterment  of  social  conditions,  will  indirectly  affect 
the  sweat  shops,  in  that  they  remove  some  of  the  conditions 
under  which  the  sweat  shop  flourishes.  And  finally,  as  we 
study  social  conditions,  and  as  the  people  become  aroused 
to  these  evils  of  the  sweat  shop  and  their  menace  to  society, 
greater  effort  will  be  made,  and  more  effective  action  taken, 
against  this  abnormal  and  unnecessary  phase  of  our  industrial 
development. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  changes  in  industry  have  given  rise  to  the  sweating 
system  ? 

2.  Describe  the  sweating  system. 

3.  What  are  the  conditions  leading  to  the  sweating  system? 

4.  Describe  the  contractor,  or  sweater. 

5.  What  is  said  about  sweat  shop  workers  ? 

6.  What  are  the  two  principal  kinds  of  sweat  shops?  Describe 
each. 

7.  In  what  industries  does  the  sweating  system  flourish  ? 

8.  What  are  the  two  principal  causes  of  the  growth  of  the 
system?  Explain  each. 

9.  What  are  the  principal  evils  associated  with  the  sweating 
system  ? 


The  Sweating  System  113 

10.  Tell  about  the  hours  of  labor  in  the  sweated  industries. 
The  wages.  The  insanitary  conditions. 

11.  In  what  ways  does  the  sweat  shop  spread  diseases? 

12.  What  is  meant  by  the  “ speeding-up  ” process?  By  “ driv- 
ing”? 

13.  Tell  about  the  subdivision  of  labor  in  the  sweated  industries. 

14.  Why  is  inspection  so  difficult  in  these  industries  ? 

15.  Give  a summary  of  the  individual  and  social  effects  of  this 
system. 

16.  What  is  said  about  the  present  status  of  this  problem  ? 

17.  What  attempts  have  been  made  in  the  past  to  control  the 
sweating  system? 

18.  In  what  ways  may  legislation  affect  this  system  ? 

19.  What  is  said  about  organization  as  a means  of  checking  the 
sweat  shop  evils  ? 

20.  How  would  a more  seasonal  distribution  of  work  affect  the 
sweat  shop  ? 

21.  The  modern  movement  toward  the  factory  will  tend  to  have 
what  influence  on  the  sweat  shop  ? 

22.  In  what  ways  is  education  essential  in  combating  these 
evils? 

23.  Tell  of  the  National  Consumers’  League.  What  does  their 
label  stand  for  ? 

24.  Give  a summary  of  the  conclusion  to  this  chapter. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Bulletin  of  Labor,  No.  4,  p.  360. 

2.  Bulletin  of  Labor,  No.  4,  p.  361. 

3.  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  320-321. 

4.  Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage-earners  in 
the  United  States,  Vol.  II,  p.  500. 

5.  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  127. 

6.  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  118. 

7.  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  p.  362. 

8.  The  Survey,  Feb.  4,  1911,  p.  780. 

9.  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  134. 

10.  The  Survey,  Feb.  4,  1911,  p.  778. 

11.  The  Survey,  Feb.  4,  1911,  p.  775. 

12.  The  Survey,  Feb.  4,  1911,  p.  772. 

13.  Report  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  XIV,  p.  130. 

14.  Hull  House  Maps  and  Papers,  p.  37. 


Social  Problems 


114 

15.  Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  p.  253. 

16.  Carlton,  p.  363. 

17.  The  Survey,  26:  114. 

18.  Carlton,  p.  366. 

19.  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  122. 

20.  Carlton,  p.  373. 

21.  Consumers’  League  Pamphlet. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Report  on  Condition  of  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the 
United  States,  Vol.  II,  Senate  Document  645,  61st  Congress, 
2d  Session. 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Ch.  XII. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Ch.  IV. 

Hull  House  Maps  and  Papers,  Ch.  II. 

Webb,  Problems  of  Modern  Industry,  Ch.  VI. 

Consumers’  League  Literature,  No.  6,  E.  39th  St.,  New  York  City. 
Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  pp.  235-40. 


) 


CHAPTER  VII 


LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

I.  Labor  organizations. 

1.  Definition. 

2.  Classification. 

а.  Labor  unions. 

б.  Trade  unions. 

c.  Industrial  unions. 

II.  Conditions  giving  rise  to  labor  organizations. 

III.  Brief  history  of  labor  organizations. 

IV.  Methods  and  policies  of  labor  organizations. 

1.  Collective  bargaining. 

2.  Strikes  and  lockouts. 

3.  Boycotts  and  blacklists. 

4.  Closed  shop. 

5.  Restrictions  on  output. 

6.  Benefit  features  of  trade  unions. 

V.  Conclusion. 


Labor  organizations.  — Definition.  — Labor  organizations 
are  the  result  of  a conscious  effort  on  the  part  of  wage-earners 
to  better  their  conditions.  Such  an  organization  may  be 
defined  as  “ a continuous  association  of  wage-earners  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  or  improving  the  conditions  of  their 
employment.”  ^ 

Classification.^  There  are  three  more  or  less  distinct 
types  of  labor  organization,  — labor  unions,  trade  unions, 
and  industrial  unions. 

The  labor  union  was  rather  characteristic  of  the  earlier 
forms  of  organization.  It  was  not  so  distinctly  a class  con- 
scious movement  as  were  the  later  forms  of  organization, 

II5 


ii6 


Social  Problems 


and  although  wage-earners  constituted  much  the  larger 
proportion  of  its  membership,  not  infrequently  employers 
and  professional  and  salaried  men  were  associated  with  the 
wage-earners  in  a united  effort  to  better  general  conditions 
of  labor.  Trade  and  industrial  lines  were  not  drawn  in  these 
earlier,  as  in  the  later,  organizations.  These  unions  were 
more  idealistic  in  their  aims,  and  sought  the  betterment 
of  all  classes.  To  secure  their  ends  they  relied  primarily  on 
education,  labor  legislation,  the  directing  of  public  opinion, 
and  political  activity. 

The  trade  union  is  less  idealistic  and  more  practical  in  its 
methods ; and  is  organized  more  directly  in  the  interests  of 
its  own  particular  membership.  The  membership  of  a 
trade  union  consists  of  the  wage-earners  of  a given  trade. 
The  occupational  lines  are  carefully  drawn  in  this  form  of 
organization.  Although  the  trade  union  frequently  exerts 
considerable  political  power,  by  throwing  the  weight  of  its 
influence  for  or  against  a man  or  a policy  known  to  favor, 
or  be  opposed  to,  the  interests  of  labor,  it  places  its  main  re- 
liance on  collective  action  rather  than  on  political  influence. 
Although  the  strike  and  the  boycott  are  occasionally  used, 
the  trade  union  places  its  greatest  reliance  upon  collective 
bargaining  as  a means  of  securing  better  conditions  of  employ- 
ment for  its  members. 

The  industrial  union  is  a sort  of  compromise  between 
the  other  two.  The  unit  of  this  type  of  organization  is  the 
industry  rather  than  the  occupation  as  in  the  trade  union. 
In  the  industriab  union  are  found  all  the  workers  of  a given 
industry,  whether  skilled  or  unskilled,  and  regardless  of  the 
different  occupations  which  they  follow.  The  aims  and 
policies  of  this  kind  of  a union  are  very  similar  to  those  of 
the  trade  union.  Its  principal  advantages  are  that  it  makes 
possible  a more  united  effort,  because  it  does  away  with  the 
friction  which  invariably  has  resulted  when  each  trade  within 
an  industry  was  organized  to  further  its  own  particular  in- 


Labor  Organizations 


117 

terests ; and  it  also  means  a larger  and  more  strongly  organ- 
ized union  because  its  membership  is  compactly  gathered 
together  in  one  industry  rather  than  scattered  throughout 
several.  The  principal  weakness  of  the  industrial  union  is 
the  difficulty  of  securing  sympathetic  cooperation  and  har- 
monious action  because  of  the  diversity  of  occupations  rep- 
resented. All  grades  of  skill  are  found  in  almost  any  indus- 
try, and  frequently  the  more  highly  skilled  and  highly  paid 
artisans  are  greatly  outnumbered  by  the  less  skilled  work- 
men. They  naturally  resent  the  influence  which  the  less 
skilled  are  able  to  exert  in  union  affairs  because  of  their 
superior  numbers.  However,  in  spite  of  this  difficulty, 
there  is,  at  the  present  time,  a very  decided  movement 
toward  industrial  unionism. 

Conditions  giving  ris«  to  labor  organizations.^  — The  .real 
reasons  for  labor  organizations  are  found  in  the  changes 
taking  place  in  industry  growing  out  of  the  industrial  revolu- 
tion. Before  this  time,  the  principal  industrial  unit  was  the 
family.  Each  family  had  its  own  spinning  wheel  and  loom, 
and  such  other  machinery  as  was  then  used  in  the  various 
industrial  processes.  A large  amount  of  the  raw  material 
that  was  used  was  supplied  by  the  family,  and  the  labor  was 
contributed  by  the  various  members  of  the  household.  When 
extra  labor  was  needed,  apprentices  were  taken  into  the 
household,  and  all  lived  and  worked  together  as  one  family 
unit.  • There  was  no  permanent  wage-earning  class,  as  each 
apprentice  and  journeyman  looked  forward  to  the  time  when 
he  should  become  a master  workman  and  head  of  a family 
group. 

As  a result  of  the  invention  of  the  flying  shuttle,  the 
spinning  jenny,  the  power  loom,  and  finally  the  utilization  of 
steam  power  in  these  new  processes,  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  a complete  revolution  took  place, 
not  only  in  the  methods  of  manufacture,  but  also  in  the 
social  and  industrial  life  of  the  time.  This  new  machinery 


ii8  Social  Problems 

was  more  expensive.  Each  individual  family  could  no  longer 
afford  the  machinery  which  was  gradually  supplanting  the 
old  hand  looms.  It  could  be  owned  only  by  the  few  who  had 
amassed  more  than  the  average  amount  of  wealth.  By  the 
use  of  this  new  machinery,  production  was  increased  many 
fold.  The  large  amounts  of  raw  material  could  no  longer  be 
supplied  by  the  individual  family,  and  the  business  became 
too  large  to  be  carried  on  within  the  household.  In  this 
way  we  have  the  beginnings  of  the  factory  system.  Those 
who  do  the  manual  work  no  longer  own  or  control  the  factory 
or  workshop.  The  machinery  or  tools  which  they  use,  the 
raw  material  with  which  they  work,  and  the  finished  products, 
— all  these  are  owned  and  controlled  by  a new  class,  the  capi- 
talist. The  one  who  toils  at  manual  labor  can  no  longer 
carjy  on  his  work  within  his  own  house,  but  must  sell  his 
labor  to  the  one  who  owns  the  factory,  the  machinery,  and  the 
raw  material.  A new  class  has  now  entered  the  industrial 
field,  the  class  of  wage-earners. 

Wage-earners  must  live  near  their  place  of  work,  and,  as 
the  factory  requires  more  laborers,  large  numbers  of  families 
tend  to  congregate  within  comparatively  limited  areas. 
There  is  no  longer  that  close  relation  between  employer  and 
employee  which  formerly  existed.  As  improvements  are 
made  in  machinery,  it  becomes  more  complex  and  more  ex-* 
pensive,  more  power  is  used,  and  larger  factories  are  re- 
quired. All  this  means  that  a constantly  increasing  amount 
of  capital  is  necessary  for  each  unit  produced,  which  leads  to 
a constantly  decreasing  possibility  that  the  wage-earner  may 
ever,  himself,  become  an  employer.  More  and  more  the 
industries  formerly  carried  on  in  the  household  are  being 
absorbed  by  the  factory.  This  likewise  tends  to  increase  the 
number  in  the  wage-earning  class. 

As  a result  of  these  changes,  we  came  to  have  two  distinct 
classes  in  the  industrial  field,  the  employer  and  the  em- 
ployee, — the  capitalist  and  the  wage-earner.  The  capitalist. 


Labor  Organizations 


119 

through  his  control  of  machinery,  raw  material,  and  products, 
was  able  to  absorb  an  increasing  proportion  of  the  wealth 
produced.  The  wage-earner  soon  began  to  realize  his  dis- 
advantage in  bargaining  individually  with  the  employer. 
The  employer  was  not  dependent  upon  the  labor  of  any  par- 
ticular individual,  but  the  laborer  was  dependent  for  his 
very  existence  upon  the  sale  of  his  labor  power,  and  could 
not  long  maintain  himself  without  his  wages ; hence  he  was 
often  compelled  to  sell  his  labor  at  a very  low  price,  and 
work  under  conditions  over  which  he  had  little  control.  He 
was  at  a further  disadvantage  in  his  bargaining,  in  that  the 
employer  was  invariably  a man  of  wider  experience,  of  con- 
siderably more  than  average  ability,  and  had  a reserve  of 
funds  which  could  tide  him  over  a period  of  distress.  It 
was  the  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  wage-earners  that  they 
could  make  more  effective  their  demands  for  higher  wages, 
shorter  hours,  and  better  working  conditions,  through  com- 
bined effort,  that  led  to  the  forming  of  labor  organizations. 

Brief  history  of  labor  organizations.^  — The  years  1824  in 
England,  and  1825  in  the  United  States,  may  be  said  to  mark 
the  real  beginnings  of  modern  trade  unionism  in  these  two 
countries.  Various  combinations  of  laborers  had  been  known 
long  before  the  period  of  the  industrial  revolution,  but  most 
of  these  were  of  a more  or  less  temporary  character,  and  par- 
took rather  of  the  nature  of  a revolt  or  rebellion.  The  guilds 
which  became  so  prominent  through  the  Middle  Ages  were 
made  up  of  both  masters  and  wage-earners  who  worked  to- 
gether, the  guilds  being  formed  in  the  interests  of  the  in- 
dustry, rather  than  in  the  interests  of  the  wage-earners. 
Organizations  of  laborers  as  a distinct  class  do  not  become 
prominent  until  after  the  industrial  revolution.  By  1800 
they  had  attracted  sufficient  attention  for  Parliament,  whose 
membership  was  from  the  class  of  employers,  to  pass  very 
stringent  laws  against  any  such  combinations  of  wage-earn- 
ers. After  much  protest  this  law  was  repealed  in  1824. 


120 


Social  Problems 


This  date  marks  the  beginnings  of  a very  rapid  growth  in 
trade  unionism  in  England. 

The  first  quarter  of  the  last  century  has  been  called  the 
“ germinal  period  ” of  trade  unionism  in  the  United  States. 
Even  before  this,  however,  there  was  an  organization  of 
journeymen  printers  in  New  York  in  1776,  and  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1786,  and  of  journeymen  cordwainers  in  the  latter 
city  in  1792.^  Most  of  these  early  organizations  were  secret 
in  character  and  were  called  trade  societies.  The  second 
quarter  century,  from  1825  to  1850,  has  been  called  the 
“ flowering  period  ” of  American  labor  organizations.  It 
was  at  the  beginning  of  this  period  that  the  organizations 
became  more  open,  and  occasionally  those  from  several  trades 
united  to  form  a central  representative  body.  The  first  of 
these  trades’  unions  (not  trade  unions)  was  effected  in  Phila- 
delphia in  1827,  and  was  called  the  Mechanics  Union  of  Trade 
Associations.  During  the  next  few  years,  a number  of  these 
trades’  unions  were  established  in  the  largest  cities.  Al- 
though many  unions  were  formed  during  this  period,  most  of 
them  were  loosely  organized  and  continued  in  existence  but  a 
short  time.  Some  went  into  politics  and  championed  various 
social  reforms.  The  latter  part  of  this  period  was  ‘‘  a time 
of  intense  intellectual  ferment  ” ; not  only  the  workers  but 
also  many  from  all  classes  were  demanding  more  humanita- 
rian measures.  Such  men  as  Horace  Greeley,  Robert  Owen, 
and  Albert  Brisbane  were  vigorously  advocating  various 
reforms.  “ Labor  unionism  and  humanitarianism  were 
curiously  mixed,”®  and  the  more  distinct  trades’  unions 
were  rather  succeeded  by  various  workingmen’s  associations. 
The  entering  of  labor  unions  into  the  political  arena,  and  the 
dissipating  of  their  energies  through  the  championship  of  so 
many  and  such  various  social  reforms,  resulted  in  a serious 
disintegration  of  the  labor  movement  toward  the  latter  part 
of  this  period.  The  labor  ^parties,  however,  had  not  been 
without  influence  during  this  time,  but  were  a most  important 


Labor  Organizations 


I2I 


factor  in  securing  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt,  a 
mechanics’  lien  law,  and  the  extension  of  the  free  public 
school  system/ 

The  next  period,  from  1850  to  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  is 
described  as  the  period  of  nationalization.  The  unions  of 
this  time  attempted  to  profit  by  the  mistakes  of  the  previous 
period.  They  were  organized  on  a much  more  careful,  sys- 
tematic basis,  “ political  affiliations  were  dropped,  less  at- 
tention was  devoted  to  ‘ Reform,’  and  more  attention  to  the 
improvement  of  conditions  of  employment ; most  important 
of  all,  perhaps,  the  local  unions,  too  often  antagonistic  and 
quarrelsome,  began  to  combine  into  more  powerful  national 
unions.”  Not  only  national  but  many  international  trade 
unions  were  formed  during  this  period. 

The  twenty  years  from  1866  to  1886  have  well  been  called 
the  period  of  amalgamation.  In  1866  the  National  Labor 
Union  was  formed  through  the  uniting  of  the  various  labor 
organizations  of  the  country.  This  National  Labor  Union 
grew  very  rapidly,  reaching  a membership  of  640,000  within 
two  years ; but  its  decline  was  just  as  rapid.  It  “ soon  passed 
from  the  consideration  of  arbitration,  hours  of  labor,  strikes 
and  other  labor  problems,  'to  the  endorsement  of  wild  schemes 
of  irredeemable  paper  money,  became  involved  in  politics, 
and  then  perished.”  The  next  great  national  organization 
was  the  Knights  of  Labor.  This  began  in  1869  as  a small 
union  of  garment  cutters,  and  gradually  increased  in  numbers 
until  it  reached  its  greatest  strength  in  1886,  when  it  had  a 
membership  of  about  600,000.  It  had  a most  highly  central- 
ized form  of  government.  Though  at  first  organized  as  a 
trade  union,  it  later  admitted  to  its  ranks  any  person  over 
16  years  of  age  not  a lawyer,  banker,  professional  gambler  or 
liquor  dealer.”  The  aim  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  was  not 
so  much  to  advance  the  interests  of  a particular  group,  as  it 
was  to  improve  the  conditions  of  the  laboring  class  as  a 
whole.  They  placed  but  little  reliance  upon  the  strike  or 


122 


Social  Problems 


the  boycott,  but  relied  rather  upon  cooperation,  political 
action,  and  education,  as  a means  for  bettering  their  condi- 
tion. After  1886  this  organization  began  to  decline.  It 
became  involved  in  several  disastrous  strikes,  and  was  also 
materially  weakened,  as  were  the  labor  unions  of  the  second 
period,  by  advocating  many  general  reforms,  and  by  carry- 
ing its  measures  into  the  political  arena.  Since  1900,  al- 
though still  retaining  their  organization,  the  Knights  of  Labor 
have  had  little  influence  in  the  industrial  world. 

The  period  of  federation,  the  most  recent  period  in  the 
growth  of  labor  organization  (1886  to  the  present  time),  has 
been  characterized  by  the  growth  of  the  principle  of  federa- 
tion rather  than  amalgamation.  Emphasis  has  been  placed 
upon  the  trade  union  rather  than  upon  the  labor  union  as 
the  industrial  unit ; and  more  recently,  there  has  been  quite 
a tendency  toward  the  industrial  union.  One  cause  of  the 
decline  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  was  the  growth  of  the  trade- 
union  sentiment,  and  the  idea  of  the  federation  of  the  differ- 
ent trade  unions.  These  two  ideas  were  embodied  in  the 
principles  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  the  dominant 
labor  organization  of  this  period. 

The  American  Federation  of  La*bor  was  organized  in  1881. 
Its  membership  had  exceeded  a half  million  by  1900,  and  is 
now  approximately  2,000,000.  As  its  name  implies,  this  is 
a federation  composed  of  a hundred  and  ten  national  and 
international  unions,  42  state  federations  of  labor,  623  city 
central  federations,  and  642  directly  affiliated  local  unions.* 
These  organizations  represent  some  twenty-seven  thousand 
local  unions.  About  three  fourths  of  the  total  union  mem- 
bership of  the  United  States  and  Canada  is  now  afiiliated 
with  this  federation.®  The  relation  between  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  and  the  local  units  is  quite  similar  to  that 
existing  between  our  Federal  government  and  the  smaller 
units  of  government,  the  Federation  having  only  such  power 
as  is  conceded  to  it  by  the  organizations  of  which  it  is  com- 


Labor  Organizations 


123 


posed.  The  supreme  lawmaking  body  of  the  Federation  is 
the  annual  convention.  Unlike  the  Knights  of  Labor,  the 
American  Federation  has  carefully  refrained  from  partisan 
pohtics.  It  has  relied  upon  industrial  methods,  upon  the  use 
of  the  strike,  the  boycott,  and  peaceable  negotiations  with  em- 
ployers, rather  than  upon  political  methods,  or  the  securing 
of  its  ends  through  legislation.  It  has  held  that  greater  bene- 
fits could  be  secured  in  the  interests  of  labor  through  conces- 
sions from  the  present  political  parties,  than  through  forming 
a third  party.  It  maintains  a strong  labor  press,  and  exerts 
a very  strong  influence  in  supporting  legislation  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  working  class,  and  in  opposing  legislation  against 
the  interests  of  this  class.  Within  the  past  few  years  there 
has  been  a growing  tendency  for  labor  organizations  to  enter 
the  political  field,  more  particularly,  for  the  state  federations 
to  do  so ; and  in  some  of  the  states  where  labor  is  most  highly 
organized,  it  has  been  able  to  exert  a very  considerable  politi- 
cal influence. 

Among  the  more  important  things  for  which  the  Federation 
stands  may  be  mentioned  the  eight-hour  workday,  and  the 
Saturday  afternoon  legal  holiday ; more  effective  inspection 
of  workshops,  factories,  and  mines ; the  forbidding  of  the  em- 
ployment of  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age;  the  pre- 
vention of  interstate  transportation  of  products  of  convict 
labor,  or  the  products  of  uninspected  factories  and  mines; 
the  direct  employment  by  the  federal,  state,  and  municipal 
governments,  of  workers,  without  the  intervention  of  con- 
tractors ; the  establishment  of  old-age  pensions,  and  a general 
system  of  state  insurance  against  sickness,  disability,  and 
accident ; freedom  of  speech,  of  the  press,  and  assemblage ; 
unrestricted  and  equal  suffrage  for  men  and  women;  the 
initiative,  the  referendum,  and  the  recall ; the  election  of  the 
president  and  the  vice  president  of  the  United  States  by  a 
direct  vote  of  the  people;  limiting  the  powers  of  judges  in 
declaring  laws  unconstitutional;  making  the  constitution 


124 


'Social  Problems 


of  the  United  States  more  easily  amendable;  and,  finally, 
further  measures  for  education,  and  particularly  for  voca- 
tional training.  The  Federation  does  not  have  a permanent, 
fixed  program,  but  stands  rather  for  what  it  considers  to  be 
the  most  vital,  pressing  needs,  its  general  object  being,  as 
expressed  by  President  Gompers,  to  better  the  conditions 
of  the  workers  in  all  fields  of  human  activity.” 

Much  has  already  been  accomplished  both  in  the  United 
States  as  a whole  and  in  the  individual  states  towards  secur- 
ing many  of  the  measures  for  which  the  Federation  has  been 
contending. 

Methods  and  policies  of  organized  labor.  — Collective  bar- 
gaining P — As  we  have  seen,  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for 
the  labor  organization  is  the  helplessness  of  the  individual 
laborer  in  bargaining  with  the  employer.  As  labor  organiza- 
tions have  grown  in  strength,  they  have  grown  more  insistent 
that  the  individual  should  rely  upon  the  union  rather  than 
upon  himself  in  the  matter  of  adjusting  wages,  hours,  and  con- 
ditions of  labor  with  the  employer.  In  this  way  collective 
bargaining  has  gradually  supplanted  individual  bargaining 
in  all  of  the  stronger  unions,  the  individual,  or  a group  of  in- 
dividuals, selecting  representatives  to  confer  with  the  em- 
ployer or  representatives  of  the  employers’  association.  The 
union  men  maintain  that  this  is  simply  in  accord  with  the 
growing  tendency  in  other  forms  of  business  organization, 
as  in  the  large  corporation  where  the  individual  investor 
delegates  his  rights  and  powers  to  the  directors  and  man- 
agers. They  maintain  that  the  representative  of  the  individ- 
ual laborers  has  the  same  right  to  bargain  in  their  behalf  as 
has  the  director  or  manager  of  a corporation  to  represent  the 
individual  .investor,  and  that  it  is  only  through  this  united 
action  that  the  individuals  can  be  protected  from  ruthless 
competition  among  themselves.  Such  competition  would 
inevitably  lead  to  a lowering  of  wages,  together  with  a greatly 
weakened  influence  as  to  hours  and  conditions  of  labor. 


Labor  Organizations 


125 


In  addition  to  raising  the  general  level  of  wages,  collective 
bargaining  tends  to  establish  a minimum  wage,  through  the 
fixing  of  wages  at  a given  amount  under  which  the  individual 
wage-earner  is  not  permitted  to  bid.  While  it  is  true  that  this 
works  more  directly  to  the  advantage  of  the  less  efficient 
worker  by  raising  his  wages  to  the  level  of  the  more  efficient, 
yet  it  is  the  inferior  workman  who  is  the  first  to  be  laid  off 
whenever  there  is  a lessened  demand  for  labor.  It  is  also 
the  better  workman  who  is  the  more  likely  to  be  assigned 
the  more  delicate  and  varied  tasks,  and  who  stands  the  better 
chance  of  promotion.  Such  conditions  as  are  found  in  sweat 
shops  are  largely  the  result  of  the  absence  of  any  collective 
bargaining,  each  individual  being  free  to  underbid  any  other 
in  the  labor  market. 

One  of  the  most  sane  and  effective  ways^f  bringing  about  a 
better  understanding  between  employer  and  employee  is 
through  the  joint  conference.  By  this  is  meant  simply  a meet- 
ing where  the  representatives  of  the  employers  and  the  em- 
ployees come  together  and  talk  over  wages,  hours,  and  any 
other  points  of  difference  which  may  have  arisen  between 
them ; and  the  attempt  is  made  to  arrive  at  a mutual  agree- 
ment through  peaceable  negotiations.  The  compacts  made 
at  such  conferences  as  these  may  be  for  a definite  number 
of  months  or  years,  or  for  an  indefinite  period,  and  are  called 
trade  agreements. 

Instead  of  merely  meeting  together  in  the  attempt  to 
thrash  out  differences,  both  employer  and  employee  some- 
times agree  to  submit  their  differences  to  some  board,  and 
to  abide  by  the  decision  of  that  board.  This  is  called 
arbitration.  Ordinarily  such  a board  is  made  up  by  the  em- 
ployers selecting  one  member,  the  employees  another,  and 
these  two  agreeing  on  a third.  When  it  is  simply  through 
mutual  agreement  that  questions  of  difference  are  brought 
before  such  a board  for  settlement,  it  is  called  voluntary 
arbitration.  When  the  government  compels  the  parties  to 


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Social  Problems 


submit  their  differences  to  an  arbitration  board,  and  then  en- 
forces the  decisions  of  this  board,  the  action  is  called  compul- 
sory arbitration. 

Although  compulsory  arbitration  has  been  fairly  success- 
ful in  the  Australian  colonies,  it  is  not  looked  upon  with  very 
much  favor  in  the  United  States.  Not  only  the  repre- 
sentatives of  labor  organizations,  but  also  students  of  labor 
problems  are  more  inclined  to  look  toward  the  joint  confer- 
ence and  trade  agreements  as  the  means  of  adjusting  the  dif- 
ferences between  labor  and  capital.  It  is  felt  that  a much 
more  permanent  adjustment  can  be  made  by  coming  together 
on  a friendly  basis,  and  that  through  straightforward,  open 
discussion  of  each  other’s  grievances  there  may  be  eliminated 
many  of  the  misunderstandings  which  are  such  a prolific 
source  of  conflict.  • A number  of  the  states  have  already  pro- 
vided for  permanent  state  Boards  of  Conciliation  and  Arbi- 
tration. Either  party  may  appeal  to  this  Board  in  case  of 
grievance,  and  in  some  states  the  Board  has  the  right  to  inter- 
vene whenever  it  learns  of  any  threatened  labor  dispute. 
When  unable  to  arrive  at  any  settlement  by  conciliation, 
the  parties  may  agree  to  settle  their  differences  by  arbitra- 
tion. Some  of  the  states  provide  that  in  case  the  parties  are 
not  successful  in  conciliation,  and  refuse  to  submit  their  dif- 
ferences to  arbitration,  the  board  shall  have  authority  to  make 
a public  investigation,  relying  upon  such  an  investigation  to 
create  a public  sentiment,  which  has  been  found  to  have 
very  great  influence  in  settling  labor  disputes.  A large  num- 
ber of  disputes  have  been  settled  by  such  boards,  and  many 
costly  conflicts  have,  as  a consequence,  been  avoided. 

Strikes  and  lockouts.  — In  the  report  of  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Labor  a strike  is  defined  as  a concerted  with- 
drawal from  work  by  a part  or  all  of  the  employees  of  an  es- 
tablishment, or  several  establishments,  to  enforce  a demand 
on  the  part  of  the  employees.”  A lockout  is  defined  as  “ a 
refusal  on  the  part  of  an  employer,  or  several  employers,  to 


Labor  Organizations 


127 


permit  a part  or  all  of  the  employees  to  stay  at  work,  such 
refusal  being  made  to  enforce  a demand  on  the  part  of  em- 
ployers.” In  both  of  these  cases  there  is  a discontinuance  of 
the  work,  the  essential  difference  being  that  in  the  strike,  the 
initiative  in  putting  a stop  to  work  comes  from  the  employee, 
while  in  the  lockout  the  initiative  comes  from  the  employer. 
From  the  time  of  the  slave  insurrections  and  the  peasant 
revolts  down  to  the  present  day,  the  strike  has  been  one  of  the 
readiest  weapons  to  which  the  laborer  has  turned  in  the  at- 
tempt to  better  the  conditions  of  his  labor,  or  to  prevent  some 
change  which  he  considered  detrimental  to  his  interests  as  a 
worker.  The  bakers  of  New  York  City  are  said  to  have 
struck  for  higher  wages  as  early  as  1741,  and  by  1835  strikes 
had  become  so  numerous  that  a New  York  daily  paper  de- 
clared that  “ strikes  are  all  the  fashion.”  For  the  twenty- 
five  years  from  1881  to  1905  there  were  on  the  average  1470 
strikes  per  year.  This  means  an  average  of  four  strikes  a day 
for  every  day  of  the  year.  The  time  lost  because  of  strikes 
has  varied  greatly,  some  strikes  lasting  several  months,  others 
but  a few  days,  the  average  duration  being  about  twenty- 
five  days.  The  total  number  of  persons  thrown  out  of  work 
because  of  lockouts  has  been  about  one  tenth  of  the  number 
out  of  work  because  of  strikes.  Lockouts  ordinarily  last  for 
a considerably  longer  period  than  strikes,  their  average  dura- 
tion being  about  eighty-five  days.^^ 

During  the  last  decade,  the  number  of  persons  out  on  a 
strike  has  varied  greatly  from  year  to  year,  the  greatest 
number,  five  hundred  fifty  thousand,  being  out  in  1906,  and 
again  in  1910,  and  the  smallest  number,  one  hundred  sixty 
thousand,  in  1914.^®  There  are  always  fewer  strikes  during 
periods  of  industrial  depression,  the  number  increasing 
with  the  return  of  prosperity,  when  the  prospect  of  winning 
is  greater. 

About  two  thirds  of  the  strikes  are  ordered  by  labor  or- 
ganizations. The  remaining  third  are  begun  either  by  em- 


128 


Social  Problems 


ployees  who  are  not  members  of  organizations,  or  by  members 
who  go  on  strikes  without  the  sanction  of  their  organizations. 
Out  of  the  total  number  of  strikes  on  record,  those  ordered  by 
labor  organizations  were  much  more  successful  than  those 
conducted  independently  of  any  such  organization.  Of  the 
former,  about  one  half  were  wholly  successful,  about  one 
third  failed,  and  the  remainder  were  partly  successful.  Of 
the  latter,  about  one  third  were  successful,  and  more  than  a 
half  failed.^® 

By  far  the  largest  proportion  (two  fifths)  of  all  these  strikes 
were  either  for  higher  wages  alone,  or  for  higher  wages  together 
with  some  other  demands.  The  next  most  important  cause 
was  disagreement  concerning  recognition  of  the  union,  or 
of  union  rules,  which  accounted  for  about  one  fifth  of  the 
strikes.^^ 

Picketing  is  considered  a very  important  adjunct  to  the 
strike.  By  this  is  meant  the  stationing  of  a few  strikers, 
called  pickets,  near  the  factory  or  plant  against  which  a strike 
is  being  conducted,  in  order  that  they  may  intercept  any 
strike  breakers,  and  endeavor  to  keep  them  from  taking  the 
places  vacated  by  the  strikers.  Although  peaceful  picketing 
has  been  theoretically  considered  legal,  the  courts  have  gen- 
erally held  that  picketing  implies  intimidation  and  is  there- 
fore illegal.  It  is  said  that  “ almost  every  decision  on  the 
subject  affirms  the  abstract  right  and  condemns  the  actual 
practice  of  picketing.” 

For  the  past  few  years,  the  number  of  strikes  has  not  in- 
creased so  rapidly  as  the  industrial  population.  One  reason 
is  that  both  parties  are  coming  more  and  more  to  recognize 
the  enormous  costs  of  strikes,  and  a more  serious  effort  is 
made  to  adjust  difficulties  by  peaceful  methods.  More  ef- 
fective machinery  is  provided,  such  as  boards  of  conciliation 
and  arbitration  which  are  able  to  settle  a large  number  of 
differences  before  a strike  is  resorted  to.  Another  reason 
for  the  relative  decrease  in  the  number  of  strikes  is  the  con- 


Labor  Organizations 


129 


servative  influence  of  the  trade  union.  As  the  central  unions 
gain  increasing  influence  over  the  local  unions,  and  as  they 
have  larger  benefit  funds  in  their  treasury,  they  tend  to  be- 
come more  conservative.  A strike  can  be  declared  only  after 
the  local  organization  has  attempted  to  settle  the  difficulty. 
Failing  in  this,  the  approval  by  two  thirds  vote  of  the  local 
organization  is  usually  necessary ; and  then,  before  the  strike 
. can  be  called,  the  approval  of  the  national  officers  must  be 
secured.  These  officers  decide  whether  or  not  the  employees 
are  justified  in  the  demands  dhey  are  making,  and  also 
whether  this  is  the  most  opportune  time  for  making  those 
demands.  In  this  way  more  time  is  secured  in  which  each 
party  may  arrive  at  a better  understanding  of  the  other’s 
point  of  view;  and  hasty,  impulsive,  and  ill-advised  action 
on  the  part  of  the  local  union  in  calling  a strike  is  averted. 

Boycotts  and  blacklists.  — • Another  weapon  frequently  re- 
sorted to  by  employees  in  labor  disputes  is  the  boycott.  The 
counterweapon  in  the  hands  of  the  employer  is  the  black- 
list. The  boycott  is  defined  as  “ a combination  to  suspend 
dealings  with  another  party,  and  to  persuade  or  coetce  others 
to  suspend  dealings,  in  order  to  force  this  party  to  comply 
with  some  demand,  or  to  punish  him  for  non-compliance  in 
the  past.”i®  The  simplest  form  of  boycott  is  that  in  which 
a group  of  persons  agree  to  have  no  dealings  with  some  other 
party  against  whom  they  have  some  grievance.  A more  com- 
plex and  also  a more  common  form  of  boycott  is  one  involving 
third  parties  who  are  not  directly  interested  in  the  question 
at  issue.  This  may  be  effected  either  by  the  interested  party’s 
refusing  to  deal  with  any  dealer  handling  products  made  by 
the  party  being  boycotted,  or  by  the  coercion  of  others  who 
are  not  interested  in  the  dispute  to  join  in  the  refusal  to  deal 
with  the  party  being  boycotted. 

A form  of  boycott  frequently  made  use  of  by  the  trade 
union  is  the  Unfair  List.”  This  is  a list  of  employers  whom 
the  trade  unions  consider  unfair  because  of  their  unwillingness 

K 


130 


Social  Problems 


to  concede  to  their  demands,  and  with  whom  all  trade  union- 
ists are  exhorted  to  have  no  dealings,  directly  or  indirectly. 

A negative  form  of  boycott  is  the  use  of  the  union  label. 
This  is  a label  placed  on  goods  made  by  union  men  in  union 
shops.  Members  of  trade  unions  and  others  are  urged  to 
purchase,  wherever  possible,  only  those  goods  which  bear  the 
union  label.  This  is  to  promote  the  manufacture  of  goods 


under  union-imposed  conditions,  and  to  increase  the  number 
of  union  men  and  women  employed. 

When  the  conditions  of  the  boycott  are  reversed,  the  em- 
ployer taking  the  initiative  and  refusing  to  hire  certain  em- 
ployees whose  names  are  included  in  a list  of  those  held  to  be 
undesirable  by  employers  because  of  too  close  affiliations  with 
labor  organizations,  the  process  is  called  blacklisting.  Al- 


Labor  Organizations 


131 

though  the  principle  of  the  blacklist  is  practically  identical 
with  that  of  the  boycott,  yet  it  is  often  much  more  injurious 
to  the  men  concerned  than  is  the  boycott  to  the  employer, 
because  it  is  a “boycott  of  the  worker’s  commodity  — 
labor.” 

The  use  of  the  negative  forms  of  boycott,  that  is,  of  the 
Union  Label  and  the  Fair  List,  and  the  use  of  the  simplest 
form  of  boycott,  where  no  coer- 
cion is  used,  are  now  generally 
accepted  as  legal.  However,  con- 
cerning the  other  forms  of  boy- 
cott, and  the  blacklist,  there  have 
been  many  conflicting  opinions 
handed  down  by  the  different 
courts,  and  their  legal  status  is  by  no  means  fixed  beyond 
controversy.  They  are,  at  best,  doubtful  remedies,  and  are 
movements  in  the  wrong  direction.  They  condemn  a man 
without  due  trial,  and  are  liable  to  the  grossest  abuses. 

Closed  shopP  — Some  of  the  most  bitter  conflicts  between 
employee  and  employer  have  been  waged  over  the  question 
of  the  closed  versus  the  open  shop.  An  open  shop  is  one  in 
which  no  discrimination  is  made  in  the  employment  of  union 
or  non-union  labor.  In  the  closed  shop,  the  unionist  refuses 
to  work  with  any  one  not  a member  of  the  union.  The  em- 
ployers have  invariably  been  opposed  to  the  closed  shop  on 
the  grounds  that  it  is  un-Anierican  and  monopolistic,  and 
that  it  interferes  with  the  non-union  man’s  freedom  in  se- 
curing work;  while  the  trade  unionists  have  claimed  that 
the  open  shop  destroyed  the  effectiveness  of  their  organiza- 
tion, and  that  the  maintaining  of  the  closed  shop  principle  is 
the  only  way  they  have  of  preventing  the  non-union  man 
from  underbidding  in  the  labor  market  and  thus  lowering  the 
standards  in  regard  to  conditions  of  labor  which  have  been 
built  up  and  maintained  by  the  unions.  It  is  probable  that 
the  controversy  over  the  closed  versus  the  open  shop  will 


Union  Label. 


132 


Social  Problems 


become  less  intense  and  less  vital  to  the  interests  of  labor,  as 
the  unions  become  stronger,  embracing  a larger  proportion 
of  those  engaged  in  any  particular  industry,  and  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  collective  bargaining  is  more  generally  recognized 
and  utilized  by  both  employer  and  employee. 

Restrictions  on  output. — There  is  perhaps  no  policy  of 
the  trade  unions  which  has  been  less  understood,  and  more 
bitterly  assailed  by  the  general  public,  than  the  restriction  of 
output.  The  output  of  any  industry  may  be  restricted  in 
various  ways,  such  as  by  reducing  the  hours  of  employment, 
prohibiting  or  penalizing  for  overtime,  prohibiting  of  piece- 
work, and  by  preventing  the  introduction  of  labor-saving 
machinery.  Or  the  output  may  be  restricted  by  more 
directly  limiting  the  amount  of  work  which  one  laborer  is 
permitted  to  do,  as  in  limiting  the  number  of  bricks  that  a 
bricklayer  may  lay  within  a day,  the  number  of  machines 
which  one  man  may  tend,  the  number  of  pieces  of  work  that 
the  laborer  may  turn  out  in  a day,  or  the  amount  of  wages 
that  he  may  receive  within  a given  time. 

Such  restrictions  may  be  either  justifiable  or  unjustifiable. 
They  may  work  to  the  interests  of  the  working  class,  and  of 
the  industry  in  general ; or  they  may  prove  extremely  vicious, 
not  only  corrupting  the  character  of  the  workingmen 
themselves,  but  also  tending  to  undermine  industry. 

Underbidding  may  take  place  just  as  readily  by  offering 
to  do  an  extra  amount  of  work  within  the  given  time,  as  by 
offering  to  work  an  extra  number  of  hours  or  at  a lower  wage 
than  that  agreed  upon  by  the  union.  In  either  case  it  is  an 
underbidding  which  tends  to  undermine  the  standards  which 
the  unions  are  striving  to  maintain.  When  an  excessive 
amount  of  work  per  day  tends  to  lower  the  efficiency  of  the 
worker,  there  is  the  same  justification  in  interfering  that  there 
is  in  limiting  an  excessive  number  of  hours  of  work  per  day. 
Unrestricted  underbidding  in  the  amount  of  work,  like 
underbidding  in  regard  to  hours  or  wages,  would  make  col- 


Labor  Organizations 


133 


lective  bargaining  impossible.  In  some  trades,  particularly 
those  in  which  piecework  prevails  and  in  those  like  the 
sweated  industries  in  which  the  unions  have  been  able  to 
exert  but  httle,  if  any,  influence,  it  is  not  at  all  uncommon  to 
bring  in  a pacemaker,  or  rusher,  who,  because  of  his  excep- 
tional cleverness  or  deftness,  may  be  able  to  do  much  more 
than  the  average  worker,  or  may  be  able  to  set  a pace  which 
even  he  himself  could  not  maintain  for  any  length  of  time  ; 
and  yet  his  work  will  be  taken  as  the  basis  on  which  the 
wages  of  all  will  be  fixed.  As  the  result  of  such  pacemaking, 
the  average  worker  is  stimulated  to  work  beyond  his  strength ; 
and  even  though  he  may  earn  a little  more  per  day  at  first 
under  the  piece  system,  there  is  the  inevitable  tendency  to 
lower  the  rate  per  piece  so  that  the  worker  actually  receives 
but  little  if  any  more  per  day  than  he  did  formerly.  “ Over- 
driving and  the  long  working  day  tend  to  destroy  the  human 
resources  of  the  nation,  and  to  lower  the  worker  to  the  level 
of  the  brute  or  of  the  automatic  machine.”  When  such 
conditions  as  these  prevail,  and  wherever  such  unrestricted 
underbidding  tends  to  destroy  the  effectiveness  of  collective 
bargaining,  a reasonable  restriction  of  output  is  justifiable. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  forms  of  restrictions 
of  output  which  are  most  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  so- 
ciety and  to  the  workers  themselves.  Both  unionist  and 
non-unionist  workers  have  not  infrequently  opposed  the 
introduction  of  labor-saving  machinery,  on  the  ground  that 
it  would  lessen  the  demands  for  labor.  Such  opposition  would 
mean  a lessening  of  the  total  amount  produced,  hence  of  the 
total  amount  available  for  consumption,  and  is  contrary  to 
the  whole  spirit  of  progress.  Fortunately,  greater  numbers 
of  laborers  are  now  coming  to  see  the  futility  of  such  opposi- 
tion to  labor-saving  devices.  There  are  other  forms  of  re- 
striction by  which  work  is  needlessly  strung  out,  or  by  which 
work  is  done  more  slowly  than  is  necessary  either  for  the 
health  of  the  laborer  or  for  the  quality  of  the  output.  This 


134 


Social  Problems 


“ killing  time  ” or  “ soldiering  ” not  only  lessens  productivity, 
but  also  exerts  a pernicious  influence  on  the  work  habits  of 
the  individual  working  under  them.  This  “ adulteration  of 
labor  ” arouses  such  bitter  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  em- 
ployer who  expects,  and  justly,  a fair  return  for  the  wages 
that  he  pays,  as  to  interfere  seriously  with  any  attempts  at 
collective  bargaining.  From  the  standpoint  of  trade  union- 
ism, of  the  individual  worker,  and  of  the  general  public,  such 
forms  of  restriction  cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  justification  of  restriction  of  output 
, is  dependent  upon  whether  or  not  it  is  reasonable  or  fair, 
and  upon  whether  or  not  it  is  necessary  in  the  interests  of  the 
efiiciency  and  health  of  the  worker  and  the  quality  of  the  prod- 
uct of  labor.  John  Mitchell,  in  his  ‘‘  Organized  Labor,”  says 
that  “it  is  to  the  interest  of  workmen  and  of  employers 
as  well,  that  all  restrictions  upon  output,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  are  clearly  and  obviously  necessary  to  prevent  loss  of 
health  or  inferior  workmanship,  should  be  permanently  and 
completely  abolished.” 

Benefit  features  of  trade  unions. — Mitchell  says  that  “ the 
most  direct,  although  not  the  greatest,  benefit  derived  by 
workmen  from  their  unions  is  insurance  against  death,  acci- 
dent, sickness,  and,  in  some  cases,  loss  of  tools  or  failure  to 
secure  work.”  The  benefit  features  of  trade  unions  have 
been  developed  much  more  fully  in  England  than  in  the 
United  States.  This  is  because  the  unions  are  older;  are  more 
thoroughly  organized,  and  follow  trade  lines  more  closely. 
In  the  United  States  the  unions  are  gradually  extending  the 
benefit  features  of  their  organizations,  some  of  the  more  highly 
organized  of  the  unions  having  now  a very  complete  system 
of  benefits.  Most  American  trade  unions  pay  a small  death 
or  funeral  benefit,  a number  pay  sickness  insurance,  some 
maintain  out-of-work  benefits  and  make  loans  to  members 
to  assist  them  in  finding  work  elsewhere,  and  others  pay  bene- 
fits to  those  who  have  become  incapacitated  for  work  because 


Labor  Organizations 


135 


of  old  age  and  long  service.  This  benefit  fund  is  not  only  a 
great  advantage  to  the  individual  worker,  rendering  him 
assistance  at  the  times  of  his  greatest  need,  but  it  is  also  of 
very  great  benefit  to  the  labor  organizations  themselves.  It 
tends  to  increase  the  membership  of  the  unions,  many  joining 
primarily  to  secure  the  benefit  features.  A better  class  of 
workmen,  men  who  know  the  benefits  of  insurance,  are  at- 
tracted to  the  union.  After  entering  the  union,  their  enthu- 
siasm and  loyalty  is  stimulated  because  they  can  feel  that  in 
case  of  misfortune  their  union  will  be  able  to  help  them  over 
their  period  of  distress.  The  union  having  a large  reserve 
fund  will  be  much  more  cautious  against  hasty  or  ill-advised 
actions  whereby  this  fund  may  become  dissipated.  Also, 
the  possession  of  such  funds  is  of  great  advantage  in  main- 
taining discipline  within  the  union.  A member  who  has 
paid  large  amounts  into  the  union  treasury  will  be  very  care- 
ful not  to  do  anything  which  may  cause  his  expulsion  and  the 
consequent  loss  of  benefits  from  such  funds.  The  recent 
development  of  workingmen’s  insurance  through  state  action 
may  tend  to  check  the  extension  of  this  feature  of  trade  unions, 
as  may  also  the  present  tendency  toward  the  industrial  type 
of  union.  The  Cigar-makers’  International  Union  now  has 
a reserve  fund  of  about  $400,000.  The  president  of  this 
union  says  that  “ a formidable  reserve  fund  in  the  treasury 
of  the  union  is  one  of  the  surest  barriers  against  hasty,  ill- 
advised,  and  ill-timed  strikes,  as  well  as  one  of  the  greatest 
preventives  of  lockouts  by  employers.” 

Conclusion.  — Organized  labor  is  a comparatively  recent 
phenomenon  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  people.  It  repre- 
sents the  struggle  of  a comparatively  new  class,  the  wage- 
earners,  to  secure  industrial  freedom.  They  have  been 
gradually  coming  into  a consciousness  of  their  condition,  and 
with  this  has  come  an  awakening  of  their  desire  to  better 
these  conditions.  ‘They  have  had  to  feel  their  way,  often 
making  costly  mistakes,  and  losing  much  of  the  ground 


136 


Social  Problems 


gained ; then  struggling  on,  profiting  by  previous  mistakes. 
Frequently  they  have  been  controlled  by  well-meaning  but 
unwise  and  inexperienced  leaders,  and  sometimes  even  by 
those  who  have  sought  only  their  own  profit  rather  than  the 
welfare  of  the  organization.  Just  as  the  employer,  when 
his  power  was  unrestricted,  seriously  abused  that  power,  so 
have  the  trade  unions,  as  they  have  increased  in  numbers 
and  strength,  in  those  sections  where  they  have  largely  dom- 
inated in  industry,  not  infrequently  seriously  abused  their 
newly  acquired  power.  For  many  years  labor  organizations 
were  bitterly  opposed,  but  to-day,  practically  every  one  con- 
cedes that,  with  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  in- 
dustry, the  organization  of  labor  is  not  only  justified,  but  also 
necessary  both  in  the  interests  of  those  who  earn  their  living 
by  manual  labor,  and  in  the  interests  of  the  community  at 
large.  Not  only  labor  leaders  but  those  representing  other 
classes  as  well  are  now  generally  agreed  that  “ labor  organi- 
zations have  been  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  improving 
the  material  and  moral  conditions  of  the  wage-earner,  and  in 
raising  the  standard  of  industrial  citizenship,”  and  that  “ the 
union  is  as  necessary  an  outgrowth  of  our  modern  industrial 
system  as  is  the  corporation.” 

What  is  necessary  now  is  that  organized  labor  be  freed  from 
those  abuses  which  have  followed  its  coming  into  power,  but 
yet  retain  the  power  of  conferring  on  its  members  those  bene- 
fits for  which  it  stands.  A great  advance  toward  a better 
understanding  between  labor  and  capital  will  have  been  made 
when  the  present  demoralizing  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the 
legal  status  of  the  different  policies  of  trade  unionism  will 
have  been  succeeded  by  more  definite  and  specific  legislation, 
and  by  a decrease  in  the  number  of  conflicting  court  decisions, 
so  that  both  employer  and  employee  may  know  definitely 
what  they  may  or  may  not  lawfully  do.  As  the  organiza- 
tions become  older  and  more  thoroughly  ‘organized ; as  the 
rank  and  file  of  members  become  more  deeply  conscious 


Labor  Organizations 


137 


of  their  power  and  their  responsibility,  and  a more  earnest 
effort  to  correct  certain  of  these  abuses  is  made  from  within ; 
and,  finally,  as  unions  come  to  be  freely  recognized  by  the 
employers,  — just  in  so  far  as  these  changes  take  place,  may 
we  hope  that  much  of  the  bitterness  in  the  struggle  between 
capital  and  labor  may  be  eliminated.  There  is  a much 
greater  possibility  of  the  elimination  of  the  abuses  on  both 
sides  as  well  as  of  securing  fair  and  reasonable  terms  in  bar- 
gaining with  each  other,  when  each  party  is  on  such  a basis 
that  it  can  command  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  other, 
and  when  each  is  so  highly  organized  that  conciliatory  arbi- 
tration can  be  demanded  and  enforced. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  How  may  a labor  organization  be  defined? 

2.  What  are  the  essential  characteristics  of  a labor  union? 
A trade  union?  An  industrial  union? 

3.  Give  a summary  of  the  conditions  giving  rise  to  labor  organi- 
zations. 

4.  Into  what  periods  may  the  growth  of  labor  organizations  be 
divided?  Give  an  account  of  each. 

5.  Tell  about  the  Knights  of  Labor.  The  American  Federation 
of  Labor. 

6.  Mention  some  of  the  most  important  things  for  which  the 
Federation  stands. 

7.  What  is  said  about  collective  bargaining  ? 

8.  What  is  meant  by  a joint  conference?  By  a trade  agree- 
ment ? 

9.  What  is  said  about  compulsory  arbitration  ? Of  state  boards 
of  conciliation  and  arbitration? 

10.  Define  a strike.  A lockout. 

11.  Give  a brief  account  of  the  history  of  strikes. 

12.  What  have  been  the  principal  causes  of  strikes?  What 
proportion  have  been  successful? 

13.  What  is  meant  by  a boycott  ? By  a blacklist  ? 

14.  What  are  some  of  the  different  forms  of  boycott?  Are 
they  legal? 

15.  What  is  said  about  the  closed  shop  ? 


138 


Social  Problems 


16.  In  what  ways  may  there  be  restriction  of  output? 

17.  What  forms  of  restriction  may  be  justified  ? 

18.  What  restrictions  are  unjustifiable  ? Why  ? 

19.  Give  an  account  of  the  benefit  features  of  trade  unions. 

20.  What  influence  do  they  exert  on  trade  unions? 

21.  Summarize  the  conclusions  regarding  organized  labor. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  p.  2. 

2.  Carlton,  pp.  95-6;  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems, 
pp.  214-5. 

3.  Ely,  Outlines  of  Economics,  p.  47. 

4.  Adams  and  Sumner,  pp.  215-23. 

5.  Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  “Trade  Unionism.” 

6.  Carlton,  p.  39. 

7.  Carlton,  p.  33. 

8.  American  Federationist,  July,  1914. 

9.  American  Year  Book,  1914,  p.  421. 

10.  Gompers,  American  Federationist,  July,  1914. 

11.  Carlton,  Ch.  IX;  Adams  and  Sumner,  Ch.  VIII. 

12.  Twenty-first  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor,  1906,  “Strikes  and  Lockouts,”  p.  11. 

13.  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  178. 

14.  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor  Report,  “Strikes  and 
Lockouts,”  p.  15. 

15.  International  Year  Book,  “Strikes.” 

16.  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor  Report,  “Strikes  and 
Lockouts,”  p.  13. 

17.  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor  Report,  “Strikes  and 
Lockouts,”  p.  14. 

18.  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  196. 

19.  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  196. 

20.  Carlton,  p.  181 ; Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  200. 

21.  Ely,  The  Labor  Movement  in  America,  pp.  300-1. 

22.  Carlton,  pp.  122-4. 

23.  Carlton,  pp.  128-36. 

24.  Mitchell,  Organized  Labor,  p.  258. 

25.  Mitchell,  Organized  Labor,  pp.  104-5. 

26.  American  Federationist,  June,  1915,  p.  429. 

27.  Roosevelt,  American  Federationist,  Sept.,  1914,  p.  710. 


Labor  Organizations 


139 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Chs.  I-X. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Chs.  VI  and  VII. 

MiteheU,  Organized  Labor. 

Ely,  The  Labor  Movement  in  America. 

Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems. 

Commons,  Labor  and  Administration. 

Marshall,  Wright,  and  Field,  Materials  for  the  Study  of  Elementary 
Economics,  Ch.  XVI. 

Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism. 
Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,  particularly 
Part  III. 

Gilman,  Methods  of  Industrial  Peace. 

Cheyney,  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England,  Chs.  VIII  and 
IX.  One  of  the  best  brief  accounts  of  the  economic  changes  of 
the  later  eighteenth  and  earlier  nineteenth  centuries. 

Carlton,  The  Industrial  Situation. 

Gide,  Political  Economy,  Book  III,  Part  II,  Ch.  III. 

Seligman,  Principles  of  Economics,  Ch.  XXVII. 

Ely,  Outlines  of  Economics,  Book  I,  a brief  outline  of  the  evolution 
of  economic  society. 

Ryan,  A Living  Wage. 

Nearing,  Wages  in  the  United  States. 

Neihring,  Financing  the  W age-earneP s Family. 

The  American  Federationist. 

Monthly  Review  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics, 


CHAPTER  VIII 


UNEMPLOYMENT 

I,  The  costs  of  unemployment. 

1.  Economic. 

2.  Individual  and  social. 

II.  The  extent  of  unemployment. 

III.  Causes  of  unemployment. 

1.  Personal. 

а.  Physical  incapacity. 

б.  Industrial  inefficiency. 

2.  Industrial. 

a.  Seasonal  fluctuations.  • 

h.  Cyclical  fluctuations. 

c.  Other  irregularities  of  employment. 

IV.  Remedies  suggested. 

1.  Lessening  the  number  of  the  unemployable. 

2.  Lessening  the  number  who  are  unemployed  because  ol 

personal  causes. 

3.  Lessening  the  number  who  are  unemployed  because  of 

industrial  causes. 

a.  Establishment  of  public  employment  exchanges. 

b.  Systematic  distribution  of  public  work. 

c.  Regularization  of  industry. 

d.  Unemployment  insurance. 


The  costs  of  unemployment.  — The  problem  of  unemploy- 
ment is  one  of  the  most  serious  that  confronts  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to-day.  Although  this  question  has  so  direct 
a bearing  upon  both  the  economic  and  social  welfare  of  the 
people,  we  have  gone  on  in  our  indifferent,  heedless  manner, 
with  but  little  thought  of  the  extent  of  the  problem,  and  mak- 
ing no  systematic  efforts  toward  its  solution.  Unemploy- 

140 


Unemployment 


141 

ment,  or  irregularity  in  employment,  not  only  affects  the 
welfare  of  society  from  an  economic  and  social  point  of 
view,  but  also  exerts  a most  unwholesome  influence  upon  the 
individual. 

Economic.  — From  an  economic  point  of  view,  unemploy- 
ment means  an  enormous  waste  of  one  of  the  three  great 
factors  in  wealth  production,  labor.  For  large  numbers  of 
able-bodied  men  to  remain  in  idleness  or  to  be  only  irregu- 
larly employed,  means  a corresponding  decrease  in  the  total 
amount  of  wealth  that  is  being  produced.  It  also  means 
that  these  men  must  live  on  what  has  been  produced.  Hence 
the  total  amount  of  wealth  available  for  distribution  is 
very  materially  lessened.  Again,  in  lessening  the  labor 
power,  the  total  amount  of  the  various  commodities  pro- 
duced is  lessened,  and  this  means  that  we  shall  all  have  to 
pay  higher  prices  for  these  commodities  or  else  be  deprived 
of  them.  Thus  we  have  in  our  economic  life  the  serious 
anomaly  of  thousands  of  strong,  able-bodied  men  wanting 
work,  yet  remaining  in  enforced  idleness,  while  thousands 
of  families  are  suffering  for  the  want  of  the  products  of  that 
labor.  A large  number  of  unemployed  has  a further  effect 
upon  industry  in  that  not  receiving  wages,  their  purchasing 
power  is  lessened,  which  tends  to  lessen  the  demand  for 
goods.  This,  in  turn,  lessens  the  demand  for  labor. 

The  four  hundred  thousand  who  were  unemployed  in 
New  York  City  in  the  winter  of  1914-15,^  or  the  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  in  our  coal  mines,^  who  year  after 
year  are  employed  on  an  average  only  about  two  thirds  of 
the  time,^  during  their  periods  of  unemployment  are  not 
adding  to  the  total  amount  of  wealth  that  is  being  produced 
in  the  country,  and  are  living  on  what  has  been  produced. 
In  both  of  these  ways  they  are  lessening  the  total  amount  of 
wealth  that  would  otherwise  be  available  for  distribution.  At 
the  same  time  their  purchasing  power  is  curtailed,  and  this 
means  a lessened  demand  for  other  goods,  with  a consequent 


142 


Social  Problems 


lessened  demand  for  labor  in  the  production  of  these  goods. 
The  magnitude  of  the  economic  phase  of  this  problem  can 
only  be  realized  by  concrete  figures.  Consider  the  cost 
to  society  in  lessened  production  of  the  four  hundred  thou- 
sand men  in  New  York  City,  whose  ordinary  productive 
capacity  at  a very  low  estimate  would  probably  be  from 
$1.50  to  $2  per  day.  The  cost  to  society  of  this  number 
living  from  what  has  been  produced  averages  from  twenty- 
five  cents  to  a dollar  a day  per  individual,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  cost  to  industry  through  the  lessened  demand  of  the 
four  hundred  thousand  men  for  the  products  of  industry. 
Thus  we  see  that  the  economic  life  not  only  of  those  who  are 
themselves  unemployed,  but  of  all  society  as  well,  is  seriously 
affected. 

Individual  and  social.  The  question  of  unemployment 
from  an  individual  and  social  point  of  view  is  perhaps  even 
more  important  than  from  the  economic  point  of  view. 
Nothing  is  more  demoralizing  to  an  individual  than  idleness, 
and  “ an  idle  nation  like  an  idle  man  inevitably  drifts  to- 
ward degradation.”  ^ The  workingman  who  is  regularly 
employed  and  is  regularly  receiving  his  wages  can  lay  aside 
a definite  portion  of  his  wages  and  establish  a home.  The 
casual  laborer  during  his  periods  of  idleness  uses  up  what  he 
has  been  able  to  lay  aside  while  employed.  Also,  the 
workingman  who  is  only  employed  at  irregular  intervals 
tends  to  form  habits  of  idleness,  and  it  becomes  increasingly 
hard  for  him  to  apply  himself  to  any  regular  work.  There 
is  always  a greater  tendency  toward  various  ^orms  of  dissi- 
pation on  the  part  of  those  suddenly  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment, and  many  and  various  ways  of  spending  their  earnings 
make  an  extra  appeal  to  men  when  restless  from  enforced 
idleness.  Society  in  turn  is  affected  by  the  demoralizing 
influence  that  irregularity  of  employment  has  on  the  in- 
dividual laborer.  Not  only  are  the  ranks  of  the  discon- 
tented greatly  augmented  by  those  who  are  out  of  work. 


Unemployment 


143 


but  also  many  of  the  crimes  against  society  are  committed 
by  them.  Many  of  those  who  are  unemployed  have  been 
working  along  at  a very  low  wage;  hence  the  lack  of 
work  for  even  a short  time  makes  them  dependent  upon 
others.  The  cause  of  a large  amount  of  poverty  in  the 
country  is  lack  of  employment.  The  presence  of  a large 
number  of  unemployed  tends  to  lower  the  standards  of 
those  employed.  It  means  a lower  grade  of  labor  and  an 
underbidding  in  the  labor  market.  This  makes  it  the 
more  difficult  for  the  labor  unions  to  keep  up  the  standards 
in  the  various  trades.  Thus  we  find  that  in  these  various 
ways  unemployment  and  irregularity  of  employment  not 
only  have  a serious  effect  in  weakening  the  individual  and 
making  him  less  capable  of  sustained  effort  in  any  line  of 
work,  but  they  also  add  materially  to  the  burdens  of  society 
through  intensifying  the  problems  of  intemperance,  crime, 
and  poverty. 

The  extent  of  unemployment.  — Although  we  have  no 
exact  figures  on  the  total  amount  of  unemployment  in  the 
United  States,  we  do  have  figures  from  which  fairly  reliable 
estimates  may  be  made,  — figures  which  conclusively  prove 
that  this  is  an  enormous  problem  with  which  we  have  to 
deal.  The  total  number  of  unemployed  will  vary  greatly 
from  year  to  year,  fluctuating  with  periods  of  industrial 
depression  and  prosperity.  There  are  also  seasonal  fluctua- 
tions, many  more  workers  being  employed  during  some 
months  of  the  year  than  during  others. 

The  United  States  Census  for  1900  showed  that  nearly 
six  and  one  half  million  working  people,  or  nearly  one  fourth 
of  those  engaged  in  gainful  occupations,  had  been  unem- 
ployed for'  at  least  some  time  throughout  the  preceding 
year;  and  that  of  this  number  about  one  half  lost  from 
one  to  three  months  of  work,  more  than  one  third  lost  from 
four  to  six  months,  and  about  one  eighth  lost  more  than  six 
months.  If  we  consider  that  each  individual  lost,  at  a 


144 


Social  Problems 


very  low  estimate,  ten  dollars  a week  in  wages  for  the  time 
he  was  out  of  work,  this  would  mean  a total  loss  in  wages  of 
approximately  one  billion  dollars  a yeard  Unfortunately 
the  returns  of  the  last  census  on  this  subject  have  not 
been  published. 

However,  a study  of  the  schedules  of  the  1910  Census  of  a 
thousand  wage-earners  from  each  of  six  different  industrial 
centers  of  the  United  States  shows  that  more  than  one  third 
(36.1  per  cent)  were  unemployed  on  an  average  of  10.8  weeks 
throughout  the  preceding  year.  This  is  leaving  out  of 
consideration  all  unemployment  due  to  sickness  and  other 
incapacity  for  work,  vacation  periods,  time  loss  because 
of  strikes,  or  any  form  of  voluntary  idleness;  and  shows 
that  even  leaving  these  out  of  consideration,  there  is  still 
a loss  of  seven  and  one  half  per  cent  of  the  productive  ca- 
pacity of  the  group  under  consideration.  Of  those  unem- 
ployed, about  two  thirds  were  unemployed  more  than  one 
month;  about  two  fifths  were  heads  of  families;  about 
two  fifths  were  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty 
years,  or  just  at  that  age  when  they  should  be  the  most 
valuable  as  productive  workers,  and  when  regular  employ- 
ment is  most  essential. 

The  Federal  Bureau  of  Labor  carried  on  an  investigation 
in  1901  covering  over  twenty-four  thousand  families  of  the 
working  classes  scattered  throughout  thirty-three  states. 
This  investigation  showed  that  approximately  one  half  of  the 
heads  of  families  had  been  unemployed  for  nine  and  a half 
weeks  during  the  year.  The  records  kept  by  trade  unions 
in  those  states  where  labor  is  highly  organized  likewise 
show  a very  large  amount  of  unemployment.  In  New 
York,  where  careful  records  are  kept  of  the  conditions  of  em- 
ployment of  those  belonging  to  the  trade  unions,  averaging 
about  one  hundred  thousand  workmen,  the  average  number 
unemployed  each  month  was  nearly  one  fifth  of  the  total 
number,  18.1  per  cent.V 


THE  LIBAARY 
OFTHE 

UAIVEA8ITY  Bf  ILLINOIS 


Pnoto  by  Underwood  and  Underwood 


Unemployment 


145 


A very  careful  canvass  of  conditions  in  New  York  City 
made  in  the  winter  of  1914-15  by  the  Federal  Bureau  of 
Labor  Statistics  afforded  a basis  for  estimating  that  there 
were  four  hundred  thousand  unemployed  in  that  city  alone. 
An  estimate  made  the  year  before  by  the  Association  for 
Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor  placed  the  number 
for  that  year  at  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand.^ 
When  we  consider  the  number  of  unemployed  as  given  in 
the  reports  of  the  United  States  Census,  in  the  reports  of  the 
trade  unions  of  the  different  states,  and  in  the  reports  of 
the  special  investigations  which  have  been  made,  it  would 
seem  that  the  conclusions  reached  by  Carroll  D.  Wright 
some  years  ago  in  regard  to  unemployment  in  Massachusetts 
would  be  a fairly  close  estimate  of  conditions  as  they  are 
to-day.  From  the  data  collected  in  a special  census  in  that 
state,  he  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  “ about  one  third  of 
the  total  number  of  persons  engaged  in  remunerative  labor 
were  unemployed  at  their  principal  occupation  for  about 
one  third  of  the  working  time.  The  total  loss  of  available 
labor  would  therefore  appear  to  be  about  one  ninth.”  ^ 
Causes  of  unemployment.  — The  causes  for  unemploy- 
ment may  be  divided  into  the  two  general  groups,  personal 
and  industrial.  The  personal  causes  may  again  be  grouped 
under  physical  incapacity  and  industrial  inefficiency. 

Personal.  — Sickness  is  the  cause  of  much  loss  of  time  of  the 
workers  engaged  in  all  occupations,  although,  of  course,  it 
varies  with  the  different  occupations,  some  being  much 
more  healthful  than  others.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the 
average  individual  loses  about  thirteen  days  each  year  on 
account  of  illness.®  Occasionally  epidemics  take  a consid- 
erable number  of  workers  from  their  regular  employment. 
Bad  housing  conditions  and  working  in  poorly  ventilated 
factories  or  in  places  where  there  are  great  extremes  of  tem- 
perature, working  for  long  hours,  and  for  wages  insufficient 
to  provide  the  proper  amount  of  nourishing  food,  — all 

L 


146 


Social  Problems 


these  tend  to  weaken  the  wage-earner’s  power  of  resistance, 
and  hence  increase  the  number  of  days  which  he  must  lose 
from  his  regular  work  because  of  sickness.  Accidents  are 
another  cause  of  temporary  unemployment  for  a greater  or 
less  leng*th  of  time.  It  is  estimated  that  about  two  million 
workmen  are  injured  each  year  in  various  industries  through- 
out the  country.'^  Although  we  do  not  know  the  loss  of 
time  that  these  injuries  would  cost  the  wage-earners,  the 
total  time  loss  for  the  two  million  would  amount  to  a very 
considerable  sum.  It  is  estimated  that  in  1913  there  were 
approximately  seven  hundred  thousand  industrial  accidents 
among  American  wage-earners  involving  a disability  of  more 
than  four  weeks.^  It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the 
wage-earner  who,  because  of  sickness  or  accident,  is  thrown 
out  of  work,  loses  his  position  permanently,  and  after  his 
recovery  further  time  is  lost  in  seeking  new  work. 

The  industrially  inefficient  make  up'  a very  large  number 
of  those  who  are  out  of  work.  In  any  industrial  concern  or 
business  enterprise,  the  inefficient  are  the  first  to  be  dropped 
from  the  pay  rolls.  Various  types  of  the  industrially  in- 
efficient are  found  in  every  community.  There  are  many 
different  causes  of  this  inefficiency.  There  are  large  numbers 
of  the  mentally  incapable,  those  who  have  not  the  in- 
telligence for  carrying  on  ordinary  work.  The  high-grade 
morons  would  be  included  among  these.  Another  large 
class  is  made  up  of  those  who  have  had  inadequate  prepara- 
tion for  industrial  pursuits.  A large  number  of  child 
laborers  going  into  the  factory  and  workshop  at  an  early 
age  become  stunted  in  body  and  mind,  and  reach  maturity 
without  the  health  or  the  knowledge  and  training  necessary 
to  compete  in  the  industrial  world. 

The  “ blind  alley  ” occupations  are  important  factors  in 
augmenting  the  numbers  of  the  unemployed.  Many  young 
persons  start  in  the  street  trades  and  in  other  lines  of  work 
at  an  early  age.  Although  for  the  time  being  they  may 


Unemployment 


147 


receive  comparatively  high  wages,  yet  when  they  reach 
adult  life,  their  places  are  in  turn  taken  by  other  younger 
persons  and  they  find  themselves  stranded  in  the  industrial 
world.  They  have  had  no  training  which  might  fit  them  for 
any  occupation,  and  their  early  experience  in  these  blind 
alley  ” occupations  has  unfitted  them  for  any  steady  work. 
They  gradually  drift  into  the  ranks  of  the  casual  workers, 
and  ultimately  into  the  vagrant  class. 

Another  class  of  the  industrially  inefficient  are  those  who 
through  various  forms  of  dissipation  lose  ilot  only  the  inclina- 
tion but  the  power  to  apply  themselves  steadily.  The  individ- 
ual at  first  loses  a few  days  at  a time,  but  as  intemperate  habits 
grow  on  him,  more  and  more  time  is  lost  until  eventually  he 
becomes  unfit  for  any  regular  work.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
many  of  our  industrial  concerns  are  taking  such  a strong 
stand  against  the  sale  and  use  of  liquors.  The  use  of 
cigarettes  likewisje_  tends  to  stunt  the  moral  and  physical 
growth  and  materially  lessens  the  chance  of  an  individual’s 
becoming  industrially  efficient.  This  fact,  too,  is  recognized 
by  many  large  industrial  and  commercial  firms  that  refuse 
to  take  any  person  into  their  employ  who  is  known  to  be 
addicted  to  this  habit.®  Thus  we  see  that  there  are  many 
closely  interrelated  personal  factors  affecting  an  individual, 
and  influencing  the  regularity  of  his  employment. 

Industrial.  — By  far  the  greatest  amount  of  unemploy- 
ment is  due  to  industrial  causes.  These  are  quite  independent 
of  individual  or  personal  causes,  and  are  inherent  in  the  pres- 
ent organization  of  our  industrial  system.  Among  the 
more  important  of  these  may  be  mentioned  the  seasonal 
fluctuations  in  the  demand  for  labor,  the  cyclical  fluctuations, 
or  periods  of  trade  depressions,  and  the  irregularity  of  em- 
ployment in  various  industries. 

A most  serious  cause  is  the  seasonal  fluctuation  that  is 
found  in  certain  industries.  One  of  the  best  examples  of  the 
larger  distinctly  seasonal  industries  is  that  of  canning  and 


148 


Social  Problems 


preserving.  The  fruits  and  vegetables  are  gathered  in  the 
summer  and  early  autumn  and  must  be  immediately  cared 
for.  In  September  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  thou- 
sand are  employed  in  this  industry  in  the  United  States, 
while  in  January  only  about  twenty  thousand  are  so  em- 
ployed. The  making  of  brick  and  tile  is  another  industry 
showing  distinctly  seasonal  fluctuations.  In  July  there 
are  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  employed,  and 
in  January  only  thirty-eight  thousand.  The  glass  industry 
shows  nearly  as  ^eat  variation,  but  in  this  the  greater 
number  are  employed  in  winter,  there  being  eighty-one 
thousand  in  December,  and  about  forty  thousand  in  July. 
In  the  manufacture  of  ice,  beet  sugar,  straw  hats,  and  a 
number  of  other  commodities,  the  greatest  demand  for  labor 
is  during  a comparatively  short  season  of  the  year.^® 

The  building  trades  furnish  another  example  of  an  in- 
dustry where  the  demand  for  labor  fiuctuates  with  the  change 
of  seasons.  Many  more  are  employed  in  trade  and  com- 
merce along  the  Great  Lakes  during  the  summer  than  dur- 
ing the  winter  months,  great  numbers  of  the  sailors  and 
longshoremen  being  thrown  out  of  work  with  the  clos- 
ing of  navigation.  The  lumber  camps  likewise  furnish 
work  for  large  numbers  of  men  who  are  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment when  the  snow  melts  in  the  spring.  The  harvest 
fields,  from  Oklahoma  up  through  the  Dakotas  and  extend- 
ing into  Canada,  demand  a large  number  of  laborers,  al- 
though only  for  a comparatively  short  part  of  the  year. 

As  a result  of  cyclical  changes  there  is  a much  greater 
demand  for  labor  some  years  than  others.  Periods  of  crises, 
or  industrial  depressions,  invariably  result  in  the  closing 
down  of  a large  number  of  mills,  mines,  and  workshops, 
and  the  consequent  throwing  out  of  work  of  many  em- 
ployees. For  some  decades  past  about  every  eight  or  ten 
years  our  country  has  suffered  from  a period  of  hard  times, 
large  numbers  being  thrown  out  of  employment.  The 


Unemployment 


149 


financial  panic  of  1907  was  followed  by  a marked  curtail- 
ment in  the  demand  for  labor  in  a great  many  different  fields ; 
and,  again,  in  1914,  reports  from  all  sections  of  the  country 
showed  that  conditions  for  the  wage-earner  were  less  favor- 
able than  for  the  several  years  previous  to  this  time. 

There  are  also  certain  other  irregularities  of  employment 
belonging  to  neither  of  the  foregoing  classes,  which  are  quite 
extensive.  In  the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  timber  prod- 
ucts, ninety  thousand  more  persons  were  employed  in 
November,  1909,  than  in  January,  while  in  the  foundry  and 
machine  shop  products,  one  hundred  and  seventeen  thou- 
sand more  persons  were  employed  in  December  than  in 
January.  Many  other  industries  show  fluctuations  of  from 
ten  to  fifty  thousand  in  the  number  employed  during  different 
months  of  the  year.^®  In  a number  of  these  industries  the 
irregularity  of  employment  is  due  mainly  to  the  seasonal 
fluctuation  in  the  demand  for  their  products.  The  mining 
industries  all  show  great  irregularity  in  the  employment 
of  labor.  Coal  mining  is  one  of  the  worst  offenders  from  this 
point  of  view.  In  this  industry  about  eighty  thousand  less 
were  employed  in  May  than  in  December  (1909)  Far 
more  serious  than  this  seasonal  fluctuation  is  the  irregu- 
larity of  employment,  many  mines  operating  only  part  of 
each  week  or  each  month.  During  the  best  years  coal 
mines  are  idle  about  one  fourth  of  the  time,  while  for  a 
number  of  years  past  they  have  averaged  just  about  two 
hundred  days  each  year.  This  means  that  the  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  wage-earners  employed  in  the  coal 
mines  of  the  country  are  in  enforced  idleness  about  one 
third  of  the  time  from  year  to  year.^ 

There  are  occasional  causes  which  may  throw  large  num- 
bers out  of  work  for  a greater  or  less  length  of  time.  Strikes 
and  lockouts  may  tie  up  industry  in  given  localities,  and  hence 
add  to  the  number  of  unemployed.  Changes  in  styles  and 
customs  cause  fluctuations  in  the  demands  for  labor  each  year ; 


Social  Problems 


150 

and  the  introduction  of  new  machinery  has  not  infrequently 
thrown  large  numbers  out  of  work,  temporarily  at  least. 

Our  own  government  — federal,  state,  and  local  — is 
responsible  for  a very  considerable  amount  of  unemploy- 
ment because  of  the  haphazard  way  in  which  it  takes  on 
and  dismisses  its  employees.  From  4 to  5 per  cent  of  the 
wage-earners  of  the  country  are  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment ; and  yet,  in  spite  of  our  civil  service  regulations,  large 
numbers  are  frequently  dismissed  suddenly  and  no  effort 
is  made  to  adjust  their  being  thrown  out  of  work  to  the 
demands  for  workers  elsewhere. 

Remedies  suggested.^^  — Lessening  the  number  of  the 
unemployable.  — In  the  first  place,  careful  distinction  must 
be  made  between  the  unemployed  and  the  unemployable, 
between  the  wage-earner  who  honestly  wants  work  and 
cannot  find  it,  and  the  shiftless,  inefficient  individual  who 
is  unable  or  unwilling  to  work  even  when  opportunity 
offers.  Perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  example  of  the  un- 
employable is  the  large  class  of  habitual  vagrants.  We  have 
no  means  of  knowing  the  number  that  belong  to  this  class, 
although  they  are  more  or  less  numerous  in  every  community. 
Neither  can  we  measure  the  extent  to  which  society  , is  to 
blame  for  this  class.  A society  which  permits  its  children 
to  leave  their  schools  and  go  into  the  factory  and  workshop 
at  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  with  little  or  no 
training  for  any  regular  occupation,  a society  which  per- 
mits large  numbers  of  its  young  people  to  pass  through  the 
formative  period  of  their  lives  constantly  surrounded  by 
those  influences  which  tend  to  weaken  both  their  physical 
and  moral  natures,  cannot  expect  otherwise  than  that  a 
large  number  of  these  young  people  will  drift  into  the  ranks 
of  the  casual  laborers,  and  from  thence  into  the  ranks  of 
the  habitual  vagrant,  and  not  infrequently  into  those  of  the 
habitual  criminal.  Unemployment  itself  influences  many 
toward  becoming  unemployable. 


Unemployment 


151 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  apparent  that  the  only 
effective  way  of  remedying  this  situation,  of  lessening  the 
number  of  unemployables,  is  through  preventive  measures ; 
that  is,  by  remedying  those  conditions  which  tend  constantly 
to  swell  the  ranks  of  this  class.  Those  who  have  already 
become  incapacitated  for  work  must  be  cared  for  by  society. 
Those  who  are  able  but  unwilling  to  work  should  be  summa- 
rily dealt  with  by  every  local  community.  Recently  one  of 
our  great  daily  newspapers  reported  that  the  public  employ- 
ment office  in  the  City  Hall  of  Minneapolis  was  overcrowded 
with  men  who  professed  to  want  work.  That  day  a con- 
struction company  sent  in  an  appeal  for  fifty  men  at  $2 
a day,  but  not  one  man  would  respond. A short  time  ago 
we  witnessed  the  spectacle  of  a so-called  Army  of  Unem- 
ployed marching  from  the.  Western  states  across  the 
country  toward  Washington,  claiming  that  they  wanted 
work.  At  the  same  time  certain  sections  of  the  country 
were  sending  out  appeals  for  laborers,  and  these  men,  too, 
refused  to  accept  work  when  it  was  offered  in  the  different 
localities  through  which  they  passed.  Instead  of  dealing 
with  this  class  as  vagrants,  and  sentencing  them  to  work 
in  the  wood  yard,  at  the  stone  pile,  or  on  the  roadways,  the 
mayors  of  several  cities  met  them  at  the  outskirts  of  the 
city  with  supplies  of  food  sufficient  for  one  or  two  meals, 
and  occasionally  provided  freight  car  transportation  for 
them  to  the  next  city,  and  thus  the  responsibility  of  coping 
with  this  problem  was  shifted  from  one  community  to 
another.  It  is  a social  crime  to  hand  out  food,  old  clothes, 
or  particularly  money,  to  the  individual  who  appeals  for  such 
at  our  back  doors.  Such  indiscriminate  giving  not  only 
permits  this  class  to  live  in  idleness,  often  supplementing 
what  they  get  through  begging  by  petty  thefts,  but  it  also 
encourages  others  to  follow  such  a life  as  this  rather  than  to 
hold  to  any  steady  work.  Those  really  in  need  should  not 
be  permitted  to  suffer.  The  larger  cities  can  meet  the 


152 


Social  Problems 


situation  by  the  combined  activities  of  the  different  missions 
and  the  associated  charities.  The  smaller  communities 
should  meet  this  problem  by  providing  some  sort  of  work  by 
which  those  honestly  in  need  of  a meal  or  a night’s  lodging 
can  earn  enough  to  pay  for  it.  Through  common-sense 
methods  and  cooperation  between  the  different  communities 
the  number  of  this  class  of  unemployables,  those  unwilling 
to  work;  should  be  materially  lessened. 

Lessening  the  number  who  are  unemployed  because  of 
personal  causes.  — When  we  approach  the  question  of  the 
unemployed  who  are  so  because  of  personal  causes,  we  find 
that  it  is  impossible  to  make  any  list  of  causes  and  say  that 
they  are  exclusively  personal.  Again,  we  find  that  social 
conditions  have  a very  direct  bearing  upon  the  fitness  of 
the  individual  for  meeting  the  conditions  in  industrial  fife. 
The  amount  of  time  lost  because  of  physical  incapacity  will 
be  decreased  as  we  lessen  the  number  of  accidents  in  industry 
and  the  amount  of  sickness  in  different  communities.  Some 
of  our  great  manufacturing  plants  and  railroad  companies 
are  already  showing  what  can  be  done  through  conscien- 
tious, well-directed  effort  toward  lessening  the  number  of 
accidents.  The  “ Safety  First  ” campaign  has  accomplished, 
and  is  accomplishing,  much,  and  the  application  of  this  idea 
to  our  mines  and  to  all  phases  of  industry  should  greatly 
decrease  the  excessively  large  number  of  industrial  acci- 
dents. In  the  same  manner,  as  we  succeed  in  securing 
better  sanitary  conditions  under  which  the  wage-earner 
lives  and  works,  in  eliminating  certain  industrial  diseases, 
and  in  furthering  the  advance  of  medical  science,  we  will 
lessen  the  number  of  days  the  worker  must  lose  because 
of  sickness. 

In  lessening  industrial  inefficiency  we  must  seek  more 
remote  causes.  We  must  begin  by  eliminating  child  labor,' 
by  controlling  the  blind  alley  occupations,  and  by  providing 
adequate  industrial  training  whereby  the  individual  may 


Unemployment 


153 


become  an  efficient  worker.  Our  compulsory  education 
laws  must  be  enforced,  and  the  young  person  of  ten,  twelve, 
or  fourteen  years  of  age- must  not  be  permitted  for  a mere 
whim  to  give  up  his  preparation  for  his  life’s  work.  And, 
finally,  every  effort  must  be  made  toward  eliminating  those 
conditions  which  have  a constant  influence  toward  vice 
and  immorahty,  and  which  are  therefore  constantly  leading 
toward  degeneracy  and  toward  lower  efficiency  on  the  part 
of  many  of  our  workers. 

The  whole  problem  of  unemployment,  and  particularly 
those  phases  which  have  to  do  more  directly  with  the  personal 
causes,  is  closely  tied  up  with  many  of  our  other  social  prob- 
lems, and  hence  it  is  only  as  we  meet  these  various  other 
problems  that  we  can  hope  to  lessen  materially  the  unem- 
ployment due  to  these  causes. 

Lessening  the  number  who  are  unemployed  because  of 
industrial  causes.  — We  are  coming  more  and  more  to  realize 
that  a very  large  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  unem- 
ployed are  unemployed  because  of  conditions  which  exist  in 
the  present  organization  of  industry  throughout  the  country. 
A very  large  number  of  those  unemployed  are  able  working- 
men, honestly  desirous  of  regular  employment,  who  be- 
cause of  the  fluctuations  in  industry  frequently  find  them- 
selves out  of  work.  These  fluctuations  over  which  the 
wage-earner  as  an  individual  has  no  control  are  due  to  the 
present  day  haphazard  organization  of  industry.  ‘‘The 
labor  market  is  unorganized,  resulting  in  confusion,  waste 
and  loss  to  employers  and  employees.  It  means  suffering 
to  individual  workers  and  their  families,  a lowering  of  the 
standard  of  living,  impaired  vitality  and  efficiency,  and  a 
tendency  for  the  unemployed  to  become  unemployable, 
dependent  and  degraded.” 

Perhaps  the  most  complete  program  for  coping  with  the 
subject  of  unemployment  is  that  submitted  by  J.  B.  Andrews, 
the  secretary  of  the  American  Association  on  Unemploy- 


154 


Social  Problems 


merit.  The  principal  suggestions  in  this  program  may  be 
grouped  under  four  main  heads. 

(1)  The  establishment  of  public  * employment  exchanges. 
There  is  great  need  of  some  system  of  labor  exchange 
whereby  the  laborer  can  find  without  delay  the  opportunities 
for  work,  and  where  the  employer  can  find  available  laborers. 
About  sixty  public  employment  exchanges  have  already 
been  established  by  twenty-one  states,  and  twenty  more  by 
municipalities.  There  must  be  a network  of  such  local 
exchanges  united  in  efiicient  state  systems,  the  state  system 
to  cooperate  with  the  local  exchange  in  every  possible  way. 
Private  bureaus  and  exchanges  must  be  supervised  and 
regulated  by  state  authorities.  A Federal  Employment 
Bureau  would  be  of  great  value  to  the  local  bureaus  in 
coordinating  their  work,  and  in  acting  as  a sort  of  clearing 
house  for  receiving  and  disseminating  information  regarding 
labor  conditions  throughout  the  whole  country.  Such  ex- 
changes could  be  of  the  greatest  value  in  the  dovetailing  of 
seasonal  industries,  so  that  workers  in  an  industry  of  one 
season  of  the  year  could  be  transferred  to  those  industries 
requiring  the  greater  amount  of  labor  at  other  seasons ; in 
publishing  bulletins  containing  information  in  regard  to 
labor  opportunities  in  different  sections  of  the  country;  in 
collecting  data  from  year  to  year  regarding  the  ages  and 
occupations  of  those  out  of  work,  together  with  the  amount 
and  duration  of  unemployment,  all  of  which  data  is  essen- 
tial for  an  analysis  of  the  whole  problem,  and  as  a basis 
for  future  constructive  work;  and,  finally,  such  agencies 
may  be  of  very  material  assistance  in  enabling  the  laborer 
to  reach  the  place  where  there  is  a demand  for  his  labor. 

(2)  The  systematic  distribution  of  public  work.  Large 
numbers  of  men  are  employed  every  year  by  municipal, 
state,  and  federal  governments  for  all  kinds  of  public  work. 
There  is  no  reason  why  this  work  should  not  be  systemati- 
cally distributed  over  several  years,  so  that  the  greater  de- 


U nemployment  i ^ ^ 

mancl  for  labor  from  this  public  work  would  come  at  the 
time  when  the  demand  for  labor  from  private  industry  is 
slackest.  Such  work  as  the  digging  of  sewers,  the  laying 
of  water  mains,  the  improving  of  roads,  bridges,  and  parks, 
the  erecting  of  public  buildings,  the  reclamation  of  waste 
lands,  and  other  needed  public  improvements  could  well 
be  planned  far  ahead  so  as  to  absorb  the  excess  labor  of 
specially  slack  seasons.  Ordinarily  less  than  the  full  wage 
should  be  given  for  this  emergency  work,  in  order  that  men 
shall  not  rely  upon  it  unless  it  is  absolutely  necessary. 
Also,  this  should  be  necessary  public  work  and  not  merely 
“ relief  work  or  “ made  work.”  In  this  way  ''  the  in- 
dependence and  self-respect  of  the  workers  are  preserved, 
while  necessary  and  productive  work  is  accomplished  for  the 
community.” 

(3)  Regularization  of  industrj^.  There  are  great  needs 
for  the  regularization  of  industry  in  the  interests  of  both  the 
employer  and  the  employee;  of  the  employer  that  he  may 
have  the  highest  utilization  of  his  capital  invested,  and  of  the 
employee  to  prevent  destitution  and  demoralization.  One 
of  our  greatest  employers  of  labor  says  that  one  of  the 
peat  public  necessities  existing  in  the  United  States  to-day 
is  an  effort  upon  the  part  of  business  men  and  the  public 
generall3^,  so  to  organize  employment  as  to  decrease  fluc- 
tuations in  the  labor  market.”  ^ Much  can  be  done  by  the 
employer,  by  systematizing  the  transfer  of  workers  between 
departments ; by  distributing  the  output  as  evenly  as  possible 
throughout  the  year ; by  developing  new  lines  to  absorb  the 
labor  of  slack  seasons;  by  overcoming  weather  conditions 
in  various  ways ; and  by  cooperating  with  other  employers 
in  the  efforts  to  regularize  employment.  Also,  much  may 
be  done  by  the  workers  toward  securing  greater  regulariza- 
tion, through  systematic  cooperation  vdth  the  emplo3^er ; and 
by  the  consumer  and  the  large  wholesalers  and  dealers  through 
a more  considerate  adjustment  of  their  orders  and  pur- 


Social  Problems 


156 

chases.  The  Do  Your  Christmas  Shopping  Early  ” cam- 
paign well  illustrates  what  may  be  accomplished  in  this  way 
through  conscious  effort. 

(4)  Unemployment  insurance.  This  is  called  “the  final 
link  which  unites  into  a practical  program  the  four  main 
methods  for  the  prevention  of  unemployment.’’  We  are 
far  behind  most  of  the  European  countries  in  developing 
a system  of  unemployment  insurance.  Although  this  is 
undoubtedly  the  most  difficult  of  all  phases  of  insurance, 
yet  the  European  countries  are  now  succeeding  in  getting  it 
established  on  a fairly  successful  basis.  This  insurance 
would  not  only  be  of  value  in  exerting  great  social  pressure 
toward  the  regularizing  of  industry,  just  as  workingmen’s 
compensation  is  exerting  a powerful  social  influence  for 
“safety  first”;  but  it  would  also  be  of  value  to  industry 
itself  and  to  the  workers.  It  is  “ as  important  for  industry 
as  for  the  workers  themselves,  that  their  character  and 
physique  be  preserved  during  periods  of  unemployment  so 
that  they  may,  when  called  for,  return  to  industry  with 
unimpaired  efficiency,  and  may  be  preserved  from  dropping 
into  the  ranks  of  the  unemployable  where  they  will  constitute 
a much  more  serious  problem.” 

In  addition  to  these  four  measures  aimed  directly  at  the 
prevention  of  unemployment,  several  policies  are  suggested 
which  would  be  helpful  in  the  solution  of  this  as  of  other 
social  problems.  Among  these  are  the  reduction  in  exces- 
sive working  hours  on  the  part  of  those  employed,  thereby 
increasing  the  demand  for  the  labor  of  others ; the  reducing 
of  the  number  of  young  workers  by  excluding  those  who  are 
under  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  restricting  the  number  of 
working  hours  of  those  under  eighteen  years  of  age,  thereby 
lessening  the  number  of  unskilled  laborers;  and  by  a con- 
structive immigration  policy,  thereby  more  properly  distrib- 
uting the  large  number  of  immigrants  who  are  constantly 
coming  to  this  country. 


Unemployment 


157 


“For  the  sake  of  the  unemployed  men  and  their  wives  and 
children;  for  the  sake  of  the  workers  still  employed,  whose 
position  is  jeopardized  by  the  competition  of  men  driven  to 
desperation  by  hunger  to  the  point  where  they  are  compelled 
to  sell  their  labor  power  and  drag  down  the  level  of  wages ; 
for  the  sake  of  civilized  society,  whose  very  foundations  are 
threatened  by  the  physical  deterioration  and  the  mental 
and  moral  degradation  caused  by  dire  poverty  — it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  measures  be  taken  to  solve  the 
problem  of  unemployment  without  delay.’’ 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  great  economic  losses  due  to  unem- 
ployment ? 

2.  In  what  ways  does  unemployment  affect  the  individual? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  social  effects  of  unemployment? 

4.  What  facts  may  be  derived  from  the  United  States  Census 
regarding  the  extent  of  unemployment? 

5.  What  conclusions  were  reached  by  the  Federal  Bureau  of 
Labor  regarding  the  extent  of  unemployment? 

6.  Give  Carroll  D.  Wright’s  estimate  of  the  available  labor 
lost  because  of  unemployment. 

7.  Classify  the  causes  of  unemployment. 

8.  In  what  ways  may  physical  incapacity  be  said  to  be  a cause 
of  unemployment  ? 

9.  Show  in  what  ways  industrial  inefficiency  increases  the 
, amount  of  unemployment. 

10.  What  is  meant  by  the  seasonal  fluctuations  in  the  demand 
for  labor?  Give  examples. 

11.  What  influence  has  cyclical  fluctuation  in  industry  upon 
unemployment  ? 

12.  Mention  some  of  the  other  irreg^ularities  of  employment 
which  tend  to  increase  unemployment. 

13.  What  may  be  done  to  lessen  the  number  of  unemployables  ? 

14.  In  what  ways  is  society  partly  responsible  for  this  class? 

15.  In  what  ways  may  society  lessen  the  number  of  those  who 
are  unemployed  because  of  personal  causes? 

16.  How  will  the  establishment  of  public  employment  exchanges 
aid  in  solving  the  problem  of  unemployment? 


158 


Social  Problems 


17.  Mention  some  of  the  ways  by  which  a more  systematic  dis- 
tribution of  public  works  may  be  secured. 

18.  What  are  the  principal  needs  for  the  regularization  of  in- 
dustry ? 

19.  What  is  said  regarding  unemployment  insurance? 

20.  What  other  policies  are  suggested  as  helpful  in  meeting  the 
problem  of  unemployment? 

' REFERENCES 

1.  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  June,  1915,  p.  173. 

2.  Census  Report,  “Mines  and  Quarries,”  1910,  p.  28. 

3.  “ Statistics  of  Unemployment,”  Bulletin  109,  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Labor,  p.  28. 

4.  E.  H.  Gary,  Article,  Harper’s,  June,  1915,  pp.  70-2. 

5.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  p.  243. 

6.  Irving  Fisher,  National  Vitality,  p.  656. 

7.  R.  C.  Richards,  First  Cooperative  Safety  Congress,  p.  129. 

8.  Bulletin  157,  Department  of  Labor,  March  15. 

9.  Henry  Ford,  The  Case  Against  the  Little  White  Slaver,  pp.  27- 
31. 

10.  Census,  Vol.  VIII,  on  “Manufactures,”  1910,  p.  277. 

11.  Abstract  of  1910  Census,  p.  551. 

12.  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  June,  1915,  pp.  174- 
92. 

13.  Minneapolis  Journal,  July  17,  1915. 

14.  J.  B.  Andrews,  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  May, 
1914,  p.  211. 

15.  Vancouver  World,  Feb.  27,  1909. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Beveridge,  Unemployment,  A Problem  of  Industry,  the  most  com- 
plete general  work  on  the  subject. 

Reports  of  the  First  and  Second  National  Conferences  on  Uneni- 
ployment,  published  by  the  American  Association  for  Labor 
Legislation,  the  most  complete  accounts  of  unemployment 
conditions  in  the  United  States. 

“Statistics  of  Unemployment,  and  The  Work  of  Employment 
Offices,”  Bulletin  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  109. 
“Unemployment  in  New  York  City,”  Bulletin  172,  United  States 
Bureau  of  Labor. 


Unemployment 


159 


Webb,  The  Prevention  of  Destitution,  Chs.  V,  VI. 

Hollander,  The  Abolition  of  Poverty,  Cbs.  VI  and  VII. 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Ch.  XVI. 
Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Cb.  V. 

Nearing,  Social  Religion,  Cb.  VIII. 

Warner,  American  Charities,  Part  II,  Cb.  VIII. 

Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents,  Part  II,  Cb.  VI. 
Hobson,  The  Problem  of  the  Unemployed. 

Kelly,  The  Elimination  of  the  Tramps. 

Flynt,  Tramping  with  Tramps. 

Lewis,  Vagrancy  in  the  United  States. 

Kellor,  Out  of  Work. 

Report,  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  BLIND  AND  THE  DEAF 

The  Blind. 

I.  History  of  the  care  of  the  blind. 

II.  The  blind  in  the  United  States. 

1.  Number.  ^ 

2.  Age  at  which  blindness  occurs. 

III.  Causes  of  blindness. 

IV.  Prevention  of  blindness. 

V.  Education  of  the  blind. 

1.  Aim. 

2.  Number  who  have  attended  school. 

3.  Special  schools  necessary. 

4.  Departments  of  instruction. 

5.  Libraries. 

VI.  The  blind  in  industry. 

VII.  Summary. 

The  Deaf. 

I.  History  of  the  training  of  the  deaf. 

II.  The  deaf  in  the  United  States. 

1.  Number. 

2.  Age  at  which  deafness  occurs. 

3.  Ability  to  speak. ' 

III.  Causes  of  deafness. 

IV.  Prevention  of  deafness. 

V.  Education  of  the  deaf. 

1.  Methods  of  teaching  the  deaf. 

2.  Day  schools. 

3.  Industrial  training. 

4.  Higher  education. 

5.  The  Volta  Bureau. 

VI.  The  deaf  in  industry. 

' i6o 


The  Blind 


i6i 


THE  BLIND 

History  of  the  care  of  the  blind. ^ — In  Europe.  — Before 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  those  persons  who  were 
•sightless  had  practically  no  attention  given  to  their  training. 
Their  affliction  was  regarded  as  a visitation  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  and  they  were  looked  upon  as  a socially  distinct  class, 
a class  whom  it  was  not  only  unnecessary  but  also  impos- 
sible to  help.  Being  thus  neglected,  the  blind  person  was 
very  much  handicapped  as  to  means  of  earning  a living,  and 
in  many  cases  his  only  resource  was  begging.  In  1771  the 
French  philanthropist,  Valentin  Haiiy,  at  an  annual  fair  in 
Paris,  saw  the  exhibition  in  front  of  an  inn  of  several  blind 
men  in  grotesque  attire  giving  an  entertainment  for  the 
profit  of  the  innkeeper.  He  was  shocked  by  the  spectacle, 
and  moved  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  blind  in  Paris. 
Then  he  attempted  to  train  and  educate  a blind  boy,  and 
being  successful  in  this  attempt,  he  opened  the  first  school 
for  the  bhnd  in  1784.  At  first  this  school  was  supported  by 
private  contribution,  but  in  1791  the  government  took  it 
under  its  protection.  Vienna,  Berlin,  and  London  soon  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  Paris,  and  established  schools  for  the 
care  of  their  bhnd.  The  realization  of  the  duty  of  society 
toward  her  weaker  members  has  grown  apace  since  that 
time,  and  now  shows  itself  in  the  fact  that  all  European 
countries  have  schools  of  this  kind,  and  several  have  been 
estabhshed  in  Asia  and  Africa. 

In  America,  schools  for  the  blind  were  opened  almost 
simultaneously  in  the  three  cities,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and 
New  York,  between  the  years  1829  and  1831.  Modeled 
somewhat  after  the  one  in  Paris,  these  schools  soon  sur- 
passed the  older  one.  They  were  started,  and  remain,  as 
private  corporations,  but  they  receive  state  aid.  Since 
1837  the  different  states  have  established  state  institutions 
for  the  blind.  Now  there  are  reported  some  sixty  residential 


i62 


Social  Problems 


and  day  schools,  with  six  hundred  and  fifty  instructors,  car- 
ing for  about  five  thousand  pupils. 

The  blind  in  the  United  States.  — Number.  — At  the 
time  when  the  1910  census  was  taken  there  were  57,272 
bhnd  people  reported,  32,443  of  whom  were  males  and* 
24,829  of  whom  were  females.^  This  large  excess  in  the 
number  of  males  who  are  blind  (130  males  to  100  females) 
is  du6  to  the  fact  that  the  males  are  affected  almost  ex- 
clusively by  certain  important  causes  of  blindness,  such  as 
injuries  in  mine  explosions  and  other  industrial  accidents, 
and  wounds  received  in  military  service.  Various  esti- 
mates of  the  number  of  blind  in  the  United  States  at  the 
present  time  place  the  figure  at  about  100,000.*  These 
estimates  are  based  on  the  special  investigations  which  have 
been  made  in  several  of  the  states,  notably  in  Massachusetts 
and  New  York.  This  does  not  mean  that  there  has  been 
any  large  increase  in  the  proportional  number  of  blind  in 
the  country,  but  that  because  of  incomplete  returns  many 
were  not  included  in  the  federal  census.  Of  the  total  number 
about  55  per  cent  are  totally  blind,  and  45  per  cent  partially 
blind.  Approximately  one  half  of  the  total  blind  popu- 
lation, according  to  the  1910  census,  were  sixty  years  of  age 
or  over.  Of  the  100,000  blind,  it  is  estimated  that  40,000 
might  have  been  saved  this  affliction  by  the  application  of 
such  knowledge  as  is  now  available  in  the  medical,  social, 
and  industrial  fields.* 

Age  at  which  blindness  occurs.^  — In  the  analysis  of  the 
age  at  which  blindness  occurs,  it  is  found  that,  of  the  total 
number  of  blind,  a little  more  than  one  eighth  were  either 
bhnd  at  birth  or  their  vision  was  totally  lost  or  seriously 
impaired  before  the  completion  of  the  second  year  of  their 
life.  About  one  third  of  the  total  number  became  blind, 
before  reaching  the  age  of  twenty  years.  This  means  that 
two  thirds  of  all  the  blind  became  so  after  they  had  passed 
the  school  age,  that  is,  after  reaching  maturity. 


The  Blind 


163 


Causes  of  blindness.  — The  great  causes  for  blindness 
have  been  enumerated  as  ophthalmia  neonatorum  (babies’ 
sore  eyes),  industrial  diseases,  accidents,  and  poor  lighting 
in  schoolhouses  and  places  of  work.  This  is  a very  short 
list  and  it  must  be  taken  into  consideration  that  there  are 
very  many  contributory  causes.  Injuries,  accidents,  oper- 
ations, sore  eyes,  measles,  and  other  diseases,  — all  account  ^or 
a certain  amount  of  blindness  among  children.  These 
causes,  with  cataract,  and  old  age,  also  account  for  much 
of  the  bhndness  that  comes  to  adults.  Consanguineous 
marriages  and  diseases  of  the  parents,  especially  the  latter, 
are  the  chief  causes  for  blindness  at  birth.  Of  the  total 
number  of  blind,  it  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  scarlet 
fever  was  the  cause  of  622  cases,  measles  of  1451,  and  eye 
strain  of  1316,  while  injuries,  accidents,  and  operations 
were  the  causes  of  6688  cases  of  blindness.^ 

Prevention  of  blindness.  — With  the  gradual  develop- 
ment of  public  care  in  regard  to  the  blind  has  come  a desire 
to  prevent  blindness.  This  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
medical  research,  and  more  lately  of  social  investigation  and 
legislation.  Of  course,  some  causes  of  blindness  are  unknown. 
Other  causes  cannot  be  prevented.  We  have  to  deal  here 
with  a few  of  those  causes  which  are  preventable.  There 
are  so  many  cases  of  preventable  blindness,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  cost  of  maintaining  and  educating  the  blind  is  be- 
coming so  great,  that  prevention  of  this  misfortune  has  come 
to  be  not  only  a medical  and  social  problem,  but  an  impor- 
tant economic  problem  as  well. 

Prevention  of  ophthalmia  neonatorum.  — • This  disease  of 
• the  eyes  of  newly  born  babies  should  receive  special  study 
from  those  who  are  seeking  to  guard  against  cases  of  pre- 
ventable blindness.  It  is  estimated  that  one  tenth  of  all 
cases  of  blindness  are  due  to  this  disease.®  In  almost  every 
case  the  physician  in  charge  can  prevent  its  development 
by  merely  dropping  a weak  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  into 


164 


Social  Problems 


the  baby’s  eyes.  The  importance  of  this  has  become  so 
widely  recognized  that  several  of  our  states  already  have 
laws  compelling  physicians  to  do  this,  and  requiring  that 
each  doctor  be  furnished  with  a vial  of  nitrate  of  silver,  and 
directions  for  its  dilution  and  use.  When  we  consider  the 
number  of  people  who  have  to  go  through  life  blind,  never 
able  to  enjoy  the  beauties  of  the  world  about  them,  and  so 
seriously  handicapped  in  their  efforts  to  gain  a living,  and 
when  we  realize  that  all  of  this  might  have  been  prevented 
by  a little  bit  of  attention  to  the  eyes  of  the  newly  born 
child,  we  see  how  necessary  it  is  that  every  one  should  under- 
stand the  importance  of  these  simple  preventive  measures. 

Medical  inspection  of  the  schools.  — ■ It  is  necessary  also 
to  consider  the  bettering  of  school  conditions  for  the  child. 
There  are  a large  number  of  schoolrooms  that  are  in- 
sufficiently lighted,  and  as  a result  many  eyes  are  continually 
strained  in  the  endeavor  to  read  correctly  and  to  write  neatly. 

In  our  schools  also  are  a number  of  children  who  find  it  a 
difficult  task  to  keep  up  with  the  class  in  their  studies  be- 
cause their  eyes  are  weak  or  diseased.  In  many  cases  the 
reason  for  their  trouble  with  their  lessons  is  not  recognized 
by  teacher  or  pupil,  and  these  weak  eyes  are  strained  con- 
tinually in  the  endeavor  to  study,  until  a medical  inspector 
finds  the  root  of  the  evil  in  the  defective  eyesight  of  the 
child.  Continued  use  of  the  eyes  under  these  conditions 
results  often  in  partial  or  in  total  blindness.  Hence  it  is 
urgent  that  efficient  medical  inspection  of  every  pupil’s 
eyes  at  stated  intervals  should  be  provided  for  by  law. 

Prevention  of  industrial  accidents  and  diseases.  — Much 
blindness  comes  as  the  result  of  industrial  accident  and  dis-  * 
ease.  By  using  safety  appliances  on  machinery,  and  by 
employing  all  those  other  measures  which,  in  factory,  shop, 
or  mill,  work  toward  the  safety  of  the  laborer,  many  acci- 
dents which  have  formerly  resulted  in  blindness  to  the  worker 
may  be  avoided.  Care  must  be  taken  that  factory  and  mill 


The  Blind 


165 

shall  be  properly  lighted,  that  the  workman  shall  not  have 
to  strain  his  eyes  unduly  in  the  performance  of  his  task. 
In  those  industries  where  wood  alcohol  is  used,  the  venti- 
lation of  the  working  rooms  must  be  perfect.  As  small  an 
amount  as  two  tenths  of  one  per  cent  of  ,wood  alcohol  in  the 
air  breathed  may  lead  to  absorption,  and  this  saturation 
of  the  body  brings  on  atrophy  of  the  optic  nerve,  or  blind- 
ness.'^ In  the  drinking  of,  and  in  the  external  application  of, 
wood  alcohol,  as  well  as  in  the  inhaling  of  it,  lies  the  possi- 
bility of  blindness  and  death.  Care  in  its  use  must  be  ex- 
ercised, and  this  care  must  be  stimulated  through  laws  prop- 
erly enforced. 

Through  greater  care  in  the  treatment  of  the  various 
childhood  diseases  which  are  liable  to  cause  blindness,  through 
the  scientific  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  eye,  and  through 
greater  control  of  industrial  accidents  and  diseases,  it  is 
estimated  that  at  least  two  fifths  of  all  blindness  may  be 
eliminated.® 

Within  the  past  few  years  a number  of  associations  have 
been  formed  in  the  various  states  for  advancing  the  interests 
of  the  blind,  and  for  the  prevention  of  blindness.  Two  of 
the  most  important  of  these,  the  New  York  Committee  for 
the  Prevention  of  Blindness,  and  the  American  Association 
for  the  Conservation  of  Vision,  were  recently  consolidated 
under  the  title  of  The  National  Committee  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Blindness.  Ex-President  Taft  is  honorary  president 
of  this  association  and  among  the  honorary  vice  presidents 
are  such  names  as  Jane  Addams,  Ella  Flagg  Young,  David 
Starr  Jordan,  Helen  Keller,  and  Senator  Gore. 

Education  of  the  blind.  — Aim.  — In  the  United  States 
we  are  educating  blind  persons  with  the  increasing  purpose 
of  making  them  industrially  efficient  and  self-reliant.  It  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  every  one  of  them  will  become  self- 
supporting,  but  education  is  given  them  with  this  optimistic 
aim  in  mind,  and  the  instructors  of  the  blind  in  this  country 


Social  Problems 


1 66 

are  doing  everything  in  their  power  to  give  them  elemen- 
tary and  high  school  education,  and  to  fit  as  many  as  possi- 
ble to  make  their  own  way  in  the  world. 

Number  who  have  attended  school.  — • Our  backwardness 
in  providing  adequate  and  compulsory  educational  facilities 
for  the  blind  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  the  census  re- 
port, nearly  one  half  of  the  total  were  reported  as  never 
having  attended  any  kind  of  school.®  At  the  present  time 
one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  those  states  where  adequate 
provisions  have  been  made,  is  to  prevail  upon  the  blind  to 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunities  offered.  They  are  nat- 
urally reticent  about  venturing  out  into  new  fields ; and  in 
many  cases  the  parents  cannot  be  prevailed  upon  to  permit 
the  child,  and  particularly  the  young  child  of  beginning 
school  age,  to  leave  the  home.  Although  this  is  a perfectly 
natural  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  parent,  it  is  most  detri- 
mental to  the  interests  of  the  child.  As  before  stated, 
there  are  now  about  five  thousand  blind  people  in  schools 
in  the  United  States. 

Special  schools  necessary.  — It  is  quite  essential  both  from 
a humanitarian  and  from  a social  point  of  view  that  the 
blind  should  be  educated.  They  cannot  be  taught  advan- 
tageously in  the  common  schools,  however,  for  two  reasons. 
First,  the  common  schools  do  not  have  the  necessary  equip- 
ment for  teaching  the  blind.  Being  deprived  of  the  sense 
of  sight,  the  blind  must  learn  through  hearing  and  touch. 
This  means  that  in  the  teaching  of  reading  and  writing, 
raised  letters  or  symbols  must  be  used,  in  the  teaching  of 
geography,  relief  maps  and  globes,  and  for  all  their  work 
specially  prepared  books  must  be  provided.  Since  there  is 
only  one  blind  person  of  school  age  to  every  four  thousand 
people  of  that  age  in  the  country,  public  schools  have  not 
on  hand  the  necessary  apparatus  for  teaching  this  class. 

Secondly,  knowledge  obtained  without  the  sense  of  sight  - 
must  necessarily  come  more  slowly,  and  much  individual  at- 


The  Blind 


167 


tention  must  be  given  the  pupil  who  cannot  see.  Hence  the 
progress  of  other  children  would  be  retarded.  It  is  for  these  • 
reasons  that  it  is  so  important  that  special  schools  be  pro- 
vided for  the  education  of  the  blind. 

Special  day  schools  for  the  blind  have  been  established 
in  several  of  our  larger  cities ; notably,  New  York,  Chicago, 
Milwaukee,  and  Cleveland.  The  advantages  of  these  schools 
are  that  the  child  may  remain  at  home  while  pursuing  his 
education ; and  that  he  “is  brought  in  constant,  daily  con- 
tact with  the  seeing  child,  learns  to  get  the  viewpoint  and 
ideas  of  these  seeing  children,  and  so  becomes  one  of  the  real 
world  instead  of  a member  of  a segregated  and  peculiar 
world.”  The  first  is  a very  real  advantage,  although  in  the 
larger  cities  the  home  may  be  so  far  from  the  school  as  to 
make  attendance  difficult.  The  second  advantage  is  pos- 
sibly more  apparent  than  real,  in  that  the  blind  child,  though 
associated  with  other  children  in  the  classroom,  yet  is  iso- 
lated. He  cannot  enter  into  their  work  or  their  play  as  one 
of  them,  hence  there  is  not  that  broad  basis  of  equality  which 
is  found  in  the  larger  institution  where  all  the  children  are 
bhnd.  The  greatest  difficulty  with  the  special  day  school 
is  the  expense  involved  in  securing  adequate  books  in  the 
raised  print,  and  adequate  equipment  for  their  work  in  musi- 
cal instruction  and  for  the  industrial  work.  These  are  of 
very  great  importance  and  the  bhnd  should  be  in  institutions 
where  the  best  and  most  modern  methods  of  instruction 
can  be  employed,  the  most  modern  material  obtained,  and 
where  they  can  be  assured  of  skilled  instructors  who  under- 
stand the  necessities  and  requirements  of  the  blind  child. 
Such  institutions  can  only  be  provided  by  the  largest  cities, 
or,  more  appropriately,  by  the  states. 

Departments  of  instruction.  — The  kindergarten  is  even 
more  important  in  the  training  of  the  blind  child  than  it  is 
for  the  one  who  can  see.  The  blind  child  in  the  home  is  apt 
to  be  neglected,  or  else  unduly  coddled.  Not  being  able  to 


i68 


Social  Problems 


play  with  the  other  children,  he  does  not  learn  through  play- 
• ing  as  does  the  normal  child.  He  tends  to  withdraw  to 
himself,  and  becomes  dependent  upon  others  rather  than 
self-reliant.  He  forms  mannerisms  or  “ blindisms,’’  as  they 
are  sometimes  called,  which  distinguish  him  from  other 
children.  Inaction  in  the  home  is  also  apt  to  lead  to  a 
weakened  physical  condition.  Very  frequently  the  parents 
either  have  not  the  time  or  are  not  qualified  for  the  training 
of  the  blind.  Since  the  blind  child  has  to  rely  so  largely  on 
his  sense  of  touch,  it  is  very  essential  that  this  sense  be  trained 
and  developed.  The  functions  of  nurseries  and  kinder- 
gartens, as  summarized  by  Helen  Keller,  are : “ (1)  to 
furnish  the  blind  child  with  many  ideas  and  experiences 
that  come  to  the  normal  child  without  special  instruction; 
(2)  to  correct  the  evils  that  result  from  being  coddled  at 
home;  (3)  to  conquer  nervous  habits  and  avert  their  bad 
effects;  (4)  to  sharpen  and  train  hearing  and  touch;  (5) 
to  strengthen  the  body  by  means  of  exercise.”  ^ 

Departments  of  instruction.  — In  most  of  the  schools  for 
the  blind  the  work  is  divided  into  the  three  departments, 
literary,  musical,  and  industrial.  The  course  of  study  in 
these  schools  corresponds  very  closely  to  the  course  of  study 
in  our  grade  and  high  schools.  The  principal  difference  is 
in  the  method,  and  in  the  apparatus  that  is  used.  The 
first  book  for  the  blind  was  published  at  the  Paris  institu- 
tion in  1786,  and  used  the  raised  Roman  letter.  The  raised 
letters  were  difficult  to  read,  and  could  not  be  written  by 
the  blind  pupil.  They  have  been  almost  completely  su- 
perseded by  the  Braille  system.  This  was  invented  by  Louis 
Braille,  a blind  musician  in  Paris,  in  1829,  and  consists  of  vari- 
ous combinations  of  six  raised  dots  arranged  in  a group  three 
points  high  and  two  wide  ( j j ) . In  the  United  States  two 
modifications  of  this  system  are  used,  the  American  Braille, 
and  the  New  York  Point,  the  latter  differing  from  the  Braille 
in  that  it  uses  letters  two  points  high  and  three  wide,  and  the 


Work  Done  by  the  Blind. 


rHE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UHIVEKSITY  Of  lUUNOIS 


The  Blind 


169 


letters  occurring  the  most  frequently  are  made  with  the  few- 
est dots.  The  great  advantage  of  the  Braille  system  over 
the  raised  letter  is  that  it  is  writable.  By  means  of  a small 
frame  and  a stylus,  the  blind  person  can  indent  the  points 
representing  the  different  letters  in  the  paper,  and  then  by 
reversing  the  paper  he  is  able  to  read  what  he  has  written 
by  following  the  raised  points  with  the  finger.  Typewriters 
in  the  point  characters  are  now  used  by  many  of  the  blind. 
Various  mechanical  devices  are  used  to  assist  the  pupil  in 
arithmetic  and  geometry,  although,  as  Helen  Keller  says, 
for  these  subjects  “ the  best  instrument  is  the  brain,  in  which 
figures  can  be  written  on  the  memory  and  combined  and 
erased  with  ease.’’  * Geography  is  readily  taught  by  means 
of  raised  and  dissected  maps,  and  anatomy  by  the  use  of 
maiiikins  which  can  be  taken  apart.  In  teaching  the  other 
subjects  no  particular  difficulty  is  encountered,  as  texts  in 
the  point  system  are  now  printed  for  practically  all  subjects. 

Industrial  training  has  become  a most  important  phase  of 
the  education  of  the  blind.  Manual  training  is  begun  in 
the  first  grades,  and  as  the  students  advance,  they  are  trained 
in  “broom,  hammock,  and  net  making,  in  cabinet  work  and 
chair  caning,  in  reed,  willow,  and  straw  basket  work,  in  the 
weaving  of  carpets,  rugs,  coverlets  and  other  art  loom  work, 
in  hand  and  machine  sewing,  in  knitting,  and  in  various  other 
kinds  of  fancy  work.” 

Not  only  is  music  a source  of  great  pleasure  to  the  blind, 
but  it  also  furnishes  many  of  them  with  a means  of  liveli- 
hood. Most  of  the  schools  now  have  a music  department 
in  which  instruction  is  given  on  the  piano  and  pipe-organ, 
band  and  orchestral  instruments,  in  singing,  harmony,  and 
also  in  the  art  of  piano  tuning  and  repairing. 

In  educating  the  blind  it  is  important  that  everything 
shall  be  done  to  make  them  as  much  like  the  rest  of  the 
community  as  is  possible.  For  this  reason  it  is  preferable 
that  for  their  higher  education  they  associate  with  those  who 


170 


Social  Problems 


can  see.  Many  blind  people  have  taken  the  regular  academic 
and  professional  courses  in  the  colleges  and  universities  of 
our  country.  There  has  been  some  demand  for  the  estab- 
lishing of  a national  college  for  the  blind,  such  as  the  one 
that  has  been  established  for  the  deaf.  Some  feel,  however, 
that  in  order  that  the  bhnd  may  have  more  complete  associ- 
ation with  other  people  they  should  be  assisted  in  their 
collegiate  work  by  means  of  scholarships  as  is  done  in  New 
York,  Minnesota,  and  several  of  the  other  states.  These 
states  offer  scholarships  of  three  hundred  dollars  in  the  dif- 
ferent colleges  of  the  state,  as  an  aid  to  blind  students  who 
are  working  for  a higher  education. 

Through  the  initiative  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Dow,  Superintendent  of 
the  School  for  the  Blind  at  Faribault,  a new  movement  has 
been  inaugurated  in  Minnesota  for  the  training  of  the  adult 
blind.'  There  is  probably  no  class  more  helpless  nor  hopeless 
than  the  adult  who  has  been  suddenly  deprived  of  his  sight. 
Many  are  entirely  unable  to  carry  on  those  activities  in  which 
they  were  formerly  engaged.  For  this  class,  a summer 
school  has  been  provided  at  the  state  school,  extending  , 
through  the  vacation  period.  These  adults  are  instructed 
in  reading  and  writing  by  touch,  in  the  use  of  the  type- 
writer, and  in  different  kinds  of  industrial  work.  They  are 
also  taught  to  wait  on  themselves,  and  thus  to  become  more 
independent.  Some  are  taught  trades  by  means  of  which 
they  can  afterwards  make  their  hving.  Dr.  Dow  in  his 
report  of  this  work  says  that  “ enough  persons  who  were 
heretofore  dependent  have  been  rendered  self-sustaining 
through  their  attendance  at  the  school  to  assure  the  state 
of  the  entire  remuneration  of  the  expenses  incurred  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  school.  But  it  is  not  in  this  way  that  its 
real  value  is  to  be  measured.  It  has  brought  to  many  a 
new  view  of  the  possibilities  of  life  yet  remaining  to  them, 
in  spite  of  the  affliction  which  has  come  upon  them.  It  has 
made  quite  other  men  of  them,  giving  them  a certain  con- 


The  Blind 


171 

fidence  in  themselves  and  hopefulness  in  their  condition, 
which  has  been  a startling  revelation  to  their  families.” 

Several  states  have  provided  a home  teacher  for  their 
bhnd,  one  whose  duty  it  is  to  go  to  the  homes  and  there 
assist  and  encourage  the  blind  in  every  possible  way.  They 
not  only  teach  the  blind  how  to  do  many  things  about  the 
home,  and  possibly  find  some  occupation  at  which  they  can 
be  employed,  but  they  are  also  able  to  make  many  useful 
suggestions  to  the  seeing  members  of  the  household,  re- 
garding their  attitude  and  helpfulness  toward  the  blind. 

Libraries.  — A very  great  boon  to  the  blind  is  the  large 
number  of  books  and  periodicals  which  are  now  being  printed 
for  their  use.  The  American  Printing  House  for  the  Blind  at 
Louisville  receives  $10,000  a year  from  the  United  States 
government  for  books  which  are  distributed  to  the  various 
institutions.  According  to  a recent  law  (1904),  these  books 
are  carried  by  the  United  States  mails  free  of  postal  charges. 
Consequently  the  blind,  no  matter  where  they  may  be  living, 
may  receive  and  return  these  books  entirely  free  of  charge. 
The  hbrary  of  the  state  school  for  the  blind  ordinarily  serves 
as  the  distributing  center  of  these  volumes  within  the  state. 

The  blind  in  industry. — Number  of  blind  in  occupations.^^ 
— Of  the  number  of  blind  people  in  the  United  States  ten 
years  of  age  and  over,  one  fifth,  or  20  per  cent,  are  reported 
as  engaged  in  gainful  work.  The  per  cent  of  our  whole 
population  so  employed  is  50.2.  This  means  that  five  out 
of  every  ten  people  in  the  country  are  working  for  a living, 
and  two  out  of  every  ten  bhnd  people  are  engaged  in  pur- 
suit of  the  means  of  hvelihood.  Of  the  blind  wage-earners, 
42  per  cent  are  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  11 
per  cent  in  professional  work,  14  per  cent  in  domestic 
and  personal  service,  and  33  per  cent  in  trade,  trans- 
portation, manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits.  The 
one  striking  thing  about  these  figures  is  the  compara- 
tively large  number  engaged  in  professional  service.  The 


172 


Social  Problems 


percentage  of  our  total  population  thus  engaged  is  4.3. 
The  broom-making  industry  employs  the  largest  share  of 
the  blind  engaged  in  manufacturing  pursuits.  Other  im- 
portant industries  of  the  blind  are  basketry,  weaving, 
cordage,  mattress  making,  brush  making,  and  chair  caning. 
Among  the  more  talented  blind  we  find  organists,  piano 
tuners,  lawyers,  and  teachers.  Now  that  more  attention  is 
given  to  the  training  of  the  blind,  it  is  probable  that  other 
occupations  will  be  opened  to  them. 

Workshops  established.  — Maryland,  Massachusetts,  and 
Wisconsin  have  established  non-resident  workshops  for  the 
blind.  Several  of  the  other  states  have  estabhshed  insti- 
tutional workshops.  Those  industries  which  can  be  most 
advantageously  followed  by  sightless  persons  are  pursued 
in  these  shops.  The  aim  is  to  furnish  them  with  some  work 
which  they  can  do,  and  which  is  lucrative,  in  order  that  as 
many  blind  persons  as  possible  may  be  self-supporting. 
Usually  persons  who  can  see  are  employed  to  do  that  part  of 
the  work  which  cannot  advantageously  be  done  by  the 
sightless.  These  persons  teach  the  blind  man  the  trade,  if 
that  is  necessary,  get  together  the  materials  for  work,  and 
have  the  supervision  of  the  shop.  One  of  the  principal 
features  of  the  non-resident  workshop  is  the  enabling  of 
the  blind  to  live  at  home,  and  thus  to  preserve  home  ties. 
Instead  of  the  state  giving  them  money  outright,  they  are 
helped  to  become  independent  without  being  cut  off  from 
family  life. 

Employment  agencies.  — Even  though  it  is  not  probable 
that  all  of  the  blind  will  find  it  possible  to  compete  success- 
fully with  those  who  see,  yet  an  increasingly  large  number 
are  becoming  self-supporting.  Some  have  won  notable  suc- 
cess in  politics,  literature,  music,  and  in  business.  Others 
have  succeeded  in  making  a good  living  in  the  various  trades. 
A great  need  at  the  present  time  is  that  of  a fuller  understand- 
ing of  what  the  bhnd  can  do.  Many  who  are  well  qualified 


The  Blind 


173 


find  it  difficult  to  secure  a position,  because  the  blind  have 
so  long  been  looked  upon  as  a helpless  class  that  employers 
lack  confidence  in  their  ability.  Consequently  an  important 
duty  of  the  institution  for  the  bhnd  is  to  secure  satisfactory 
positions  for  those  suitably  prepared.  A number  of  insti- 
tutions have  employment  agencies  to  assist  the  blind  in 
securing  positions ; also  many  have  field  agents  who  confer 
with  employers,  and  in  other  ways  assist  the  blind  in  finding 
work.  As  a result  of  the  movement  toward  the  better 
training  of  the  blind,  and  of  the  efforts  of  these  agencies  to 
find  a place  for  them  in  the  industrial  life,  they  are  becoming 
less  and  less  objects  of  pity  and  neglect,  and  more  and  more 
not  only  economically  independent,  but  also  useful  citizens 
of  a community. 

Summary.  — The  work  that  is  being  done  for  the  blind 
and  that  needs  to  be  done  has  been  best  summarized  by 
Helen  Keller.  She  says  that  The  collective  functions  of 
the  agencies  at  work  for  the  blind  are  : (1)  to  prevent  blind- 
ness and  disseminate  a knowledge  of  the  methods  of  pre- 
vention; (2)  to  teach  the  public  about  the  blind;  (3)  to 
found  adequate  nurseries,  kindergartens,  and  schools,  and 
improve  such  as  exist ; (4)  to  open  workshops  in  populous 
centers,  and  to  systematize  the  marketing  of  the  products 
of  the  sightless ; (5)  to  help  the  blind  worker  over  the  days 
when  he  is  establishing  himself  in  business,  and  to  provide 
the  materials  of  his  work  at  minimum  cost ; (6)  to  seek  out 
the  bhnd  in  their  homes  and  teach  them  reading,  writing, 
and  handicrafts ; (7)  to  find  a greater  variety  of  paying  oc- 
cupations in  which  the  sightless  can  engage ; (8)  to  register 
all  bhnd  children  and  see  that  they  find  their  way  to  the 
institutions  provided  for  them ; (9)  to  reach  the  blind  in  their 
isolation,  and  inform  them  of  the  possibilities  of  their  blind- 
ness in. order  that  they  may  avail  themselves  of  the  advan- 
tages already  provided  and  of  the  enlightening  experience 
of  other  blind  persons.”  ^ 


174 


Social  Problems 


THE  DEAF 

History  of  the  training  of  the  deaf.^^  — In  the  ancient 
world,  the  deaf  were  looked  upon  as  being  without  the 
possibility  of  help.  Because  they  were  not  able  to  hear  and 
speak,  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  nothing  could  be  done 
toward  their  education  or  toward  the  bettering  of  their 
condition.  The  first  instance  that  we  have  of  a teacher  of 
the  deaf  is  a Benedictine  monk  in  Spain  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. The  first  school  for  the  deaf  was  established  at  Paris 
in  1760.  A few  years  later  similar  schools  were  established 
in  Great  Britain  and  Germany.  The  first  one  in  the  United 
States  was  established  by  Gallaudet  at  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1817.  Throughout  the  past  century,  great  advance 
has  been  made  in  the  methods  of  teaching  the  deaf,  and  in 
the  opportunities  afforded  them  for  an  education.  At  the 
present  time,  about  14,000  deaf  pupils  are  in  the  one  hundred 
and  fifty  schools  of  this  country.  Of  these  schools  about 
three  sevenths  are  state  boarding  schools,  the  same  number 
are  day  schools,  and  one  seventh  are  parochial  and  private 
schools. 

The  deaf  in  the  United  States.  — Numbers.  — Deafness 
is  such  a relative  term  that  no  accurate  statistics  are  to  be 
had  regarding  the  number  of  deaf  in  the  United  States.  The 
Census  of  1900  gave  the  number  as  approximately  ninety 
thousand.  It  is  probable  that  the  number  at  the  present 
time  is  somewhat  in  excess  of  one  hundred  thousand,  or  some- 
what above  the  total  number  of  blind  in  the  country.  While 
the  proportion  of  blind  is  undoubtedly  decreasing  in  the  more 
advanced  countries,  the  number  of  deaf  remains  in  about 
the  same  proportion  to  the  total  population. 

Of  the  total  number  of  deaf,  a little  more  than  two  fifths 
(42  per  cent)  are  classed  as  totally  deaf,  and  the  remaining 
three  fifths  (58  per  cent)  as  partially  deaf.^^ 

Age  at  which  deafness  occurs.  — In  considering  what  can 


The  Deaf 


175 


and  should  be  done  in  the  education  of  the  deaf,  it  is  essen- 
tial that  we  should  know  the  relative  number  who  are  deaf 
from  birth,  as  compared  with  the  number  who  become  deaf 
after  reaching  maturity.  Of  the  total  number  about  one 
fifth  (18  per  cent)  were  born  deaf ; two  fifths  were  either 
born  deaf  or  became  deaf  before  reaching  the  age  of  five 
years;  and  three  fifths  (59  per  cent)  before  reaching  the 
age  of  twenty  j^ears.^^’ 

Ability  to  sjpeak}^  — Persons  who  are  born  deaf  are  nat- 
urally^ also  dumb,  but  this  is  a consequence  of  the  deafness 
rather  than  a defect  in  itself.  The  deaf-born  child  remains 
dumb  because,  never  having  heard  sounds,  he  does  not  know 
how  to  make  them.  The  normal  child  learns  to  talk  within 
the  period  of  from  two  to  five  years  of  age.  Consequently 
if  deafness  occurs  before  the  age  of  two,  the  child  remains 
speechless,  while  if  the  child  loses  his  hearing  when  from  two 
to  five  years  of  age,  he  soon  forgets  how  to  talk  through  not 
being  able  to  correct  his  pronunciation  by  hearing  others 
speak,  and  so  becomes  a deaf-mute.  After  the  speech 
habit  has  become  fully  established,  deafness  no  longer 
tends  to  produce  dumbness.  A very  large  proportion  (92 
per  cent)  of  those  who  cannot  speak  became  deaf  before 
they  were  five  years  old,  while  about  one  half  of  all  who  are 
dumb  were  born  deaf.  Of  the  total  number  of  deaf  in  the 
United  States  one  fourth  were  reported  as  being  able  to 
speak  ‘‘  not  at  all.”  This  proportion  is  decreasing  very 
rapidly  with  the  introduction,  and  more  widespread  appli- 
cation, of  new  methods  for  “ teaching  the  dumb  to  speak.” 

Causes  of  deafness.^®  — The  cause  of  deafness  varies 
according  to  the  age  period  at  which  deafness  occurs.  A 
very  large  proportion  of  those  losing  their  hearing  under 
the  age  of  two  years  are  congenitally  deaf.  For  the  next 
age  period  scarlet  fever,  meningitis,  and  other  children’s 
diseases  stand  out  prominently  as  causes.  Adenoids  is  an- 
other occasional  cause.  Among  adults  catarrh,  influenza, 


176 


Social  Problems 


colds,  and  old  age  are  among  the  principal  causes.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  of  the  four  principal  assigned  causes 
of  deafness,  congenital  deafness  occurs  exclusively  at  birth, 
meningitis  produces  deafness  chiefly  before  the  age  of  five, 
scarlet  fever  before  the  age  of  ten,  and  catarrh  during  adult 
life. 

It  is  not  known  to  just  what  extent  hereditj^  is  a cause  of 
deafness,  but  the  data  collected  by  the  last  census  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  it  is  an  important  contributory  cause  in  two 
classes ; those  deaf  from  birth,  most  of  whom  are  totally  deaf, 
and  those  deaf  from  catarrh,  most  of  whom  are  partially 
deaf.  The  tendency  to  deafness  among  the  children  of  deaf 
persons  is  shown  to  be  more  than  five  and  a half  times  as 
great  as  in  the  case  of  the  general  population  of  the  United 
States.  This  shows  that  where  there  is  a weakness  that 
predisposes  one  toward  deafness,  this  weakness  is  apt  to  be 
passed  on  to  succeeding  generations.  The  influence  of 
heredity  is  further  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  percentage 
congenitally  deaf  is  nearly  three  times  as  great  among  those 
whose  parents  are  cousins  as  among  those  whose  parents 
are  not. 

Prevention  of  deafness.  — At  the  present  time  we  can 
not  foresee  as  great  possibilities  in  the  prevention  of  deaf- 
ness as  we  can  in  the  prevention  of  blindness.  However, 
with  the  increased  control  of  hereditary  influences,  and 
further  restrictions  on  consanguineous  marriages,  and  with 
the  advance  of  medical  science,  it  is  probable  that  the  pro- 
portion of  deaf  may  be  lessened  quite  materially. 

Education  of  the  deaf.  — But  a few  years  ago  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  speak  of  institutions  for  the  deaf  as  asylums  for 
the  deaf  and  dumb.’’  Within  recent  years,  these  terms  have 
become  quite  inappropriate.  Since  we  have  come  to  recog- 
nize that  the  deaf  are  not  helpless,  but  can  be  educated  quite 
as  successfully^  as  any  other  class,  we  speak  of  these  institu- 
tions as  schools  rather  than  as  asylums.  Likewise,  since 


The  Deaf 


177 


it  has  been  discovered  that  a large  proportion  of  those  who 
were  supposed  to  be  dumb  can  be  taught  to  speak,  we  speak 
of  schools  for  the  deaf,  rather  than  for  the  deaf  and  dumb. 

It  is  essential  that  special  schools  be  provided  for  the  deaf 
because  of  the  special  methods  which  must  be  employed  in 
teaching  them.  The  ordinary  courses  of  study  for  the  deaf, 
through  the  grades  and  high  school,  are  practically  the  same 
as  are  given  in  the  public  schools.  Because  of  his  inability 
to  hear  the  sound  of  the  teacher’s  voice,  and  because  of  the 
necessity  of  relying  on  signs  and  symbols,  the  beginning 
processes  of  the  deaf  child’s' education  take  more  time  than 
do  those  of  the  hearing  child.  After  these  early  difficulties 
are  overcome,  the  deaf  child  makes  quite  as  rapid  progress 
in  his  studies  as  does  the  child  who  hears. 

Methods  of  teaching  the  deaf.  — There  are  three  methods 
employed  in  the  education  of  the  deaf,  the  manual,  the 
oral,  and  the  combined.  The  manual  method  was  the  first 
to  be  used  in  the  schools  of  America.  In  it  natural  or 
conventional  gestures  and  finger  spelling  are  used  in  place 
of  speech.  In  the  oral  method,  speech  is  used,  that  is,  the 
child  is  taught  to  articulate  and  lip  reading  is  substituted 
for  hearing.  In  the  combined  method  the  pupils  are  taught 
orally,  occasionally  being  aided  by  finger  spelling  and  signs. 
In  the  manual  method  the  movements  of  the  hands  and 
fingers,  rather  than  spoken  words,  are  used  to  express  ideas. 
Two  kinds  of  manual  alphabet  are  used  : the  single  handed, 
in  which  the* letters  are  formed  by  the  use  of  one  hand,  and 
the  double  handed,  in  which  the  letters  are  formed  by  using 
the  fingers  of  both  hands.  The  sign  language  consists  of 
naturally  pantomimic  or  conventionalized  gestures,  by 
means  of  which  a great  many  ideas  may  be  expressed. 
The  natural  pantomime  can  be  readily  understood  by  any 
one,  while  the  conventionalized  signs  must  be  learned,  even 
by  the  deaf. 

A somewhat  bitter  controversy  has  been  carried  on  in 

N 


178 


Social  Problems 


the  United  States,  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  over 
the  respective  merits  of  the  manual  as  compared  with  the 
oral  method.  Within  the  past  few  years,  however,  there 
has  been  a great  increase  in  the  number  of  those  taught  bj^ 
speech,  until  now  in  practically  every  school  some  classes  are 
taught  by  the  oral  method.  In  some  schools  the  oral  has 
entirely  supplanted  the  manual  method,  while  in  others  the 
combined  method  is  used. 

In  the  oral  method  the  instruction  is  by  and  through  speech. 
The  pupil  learns  articulation  by  being  taught  the  move- 
ments of  the  lips,  teeth,  and  tongue,  and  by  feeling  with 
his  hand  the  vibrations  of  the  throat  and  vocal  organs. 
He  not  only  learns  to  imitate  these  movements,  and  thus  to 
produce  tfie  different  sounds,  but  he  is  also  taught  to  read 
the  sounds  produced  by  others,  by  carefully  observing  the 
movements  of  their  lips.  Although  it  is  not  probable  that 
all  of  those  deaf  from  early  childhood  may  be  taught  to  speak, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  some  of  them  lack  the  necessary  keen- 
ness of  perception,  yet  the  number  who  cannot  be  so  taught 
is  comparatively  small. 

About  three  fourths  of  all  the  deaf  in  schools  are  now 
taught  in  the  classroom  by  speech. There  is  still  some 
opposition  to  this  method,  mostly  from  the  adult  deaf.  The 
great  advantage  of  being  taught  orally  is  that  it  enables  the 
person  not  only  to  talk  to  others,  but  also  to  understand 
what  others  are  saying  through  carefully  watching  the 
movement  of  the  lips.  A large  number  of  those  who  but  a 
few  years  ago  would  have  been  left  to  go  through  life  hope- 
lessly dumb,  are  now  able  to  carry  on  an  ordinary  conver- 
sation with  others. 

Day  schoolsP  — Within  the  past  few  years,  a number  of 
day  schools  for  the  deaf  have  been  established.  More  than 
half  of  these  schools  are  found  in  the  larger  cities  of  Wis- 
consin and  Michigan.  The  advantages  of  the  day  school 
are  that  it  permits  the  pupils  to  live  at  home,  and  that  it 


The  Deaf 


179 


does  not  take  them  out  of  their  normal  social  environment. 
Instead  of  having  only  institutional  care,  they  are  thrown  into 
contact  with  others,  more  as  they  'will  be  after  they  have 
passed  the  school  age.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  in  all 
homes  that  adequate  attention  can  be  given  to  the  deaf. 
In  many  the  parents  have  no  proper  understanding  of  the 
way  in  which  the  deaf  should  be  treated,  and  in  others,  par- 
ticularly in  some  of  the  poorer  homes,  the  parents  may  be 
too  busy  to  give  time  and  attention  to  the  deaf  child,  and 
thus  leave  him  much  alone  and  neglected.  It  is  not  prob- 
able, however,  that  the  day  school  will  ever  supplant  the 
state  school  in  the  education  of  the  deaf,  because  of  the 
small  number  of  the  deaf  of  school  age  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  Based  on  the  general  average  of  deaf  through- 
out the  country,  we  would  not  find  more  than  one  deaf 
child  of  school  age  in  a city  of  about  six  thousand  popula- 
tion. In  small  schools  we  could  not  expect  to  find  suitable 
provision  for  industrial  training,  nor  a proper  classification 
of  the  pupils.  For  this  reason  it  is  evident  that  only  the 
larger  cities  could  provide  anything  like  adequate  facilities 
for  the  education  of  the  deaf. 

Industrial  training.  — Manual  and  industrial  training 
play  a very  important  part  in  the  education  of  the  deaf. 
Any  class  deprived  of  one  sense,  must  necessarily  place 
greater  reliance  upon  the  other  senses.  The  more  fully  the 
other  senses  are  developed,  the  less  one  feels  the  loss  of  the 
one.  This  training  is  not  only  important  as  better  fitting 
them  for  their  place  in  society,  but  is  also  of  material  assist- 
ance to  them  in  opening  up  various  opportunities  for  gain- 
ing a livelihood.  Some  seventy-seven  industries  or  trades 
are  now  being  taught  in  the  schools  for  the  deaf  in  this 
countrj^  Many  of  the  deaf  follow  trades  learned  in  school 
as  a life  work,  while  for  others  the  training  they  have  had 
enables  them  to  adapt  themselves  the  more  readily  to  other 
employments.  As  a rule  those  who  have  gone  through  the 


i8o 


Social  Problems 


schools  are  able  to  go  out  into  the  world  and  hold  their  own 
industrially  alongside  of  those  who  can  heard® 

Higher . education.  — Not  being  able  to  hear  does  not 
necessarily  keep  a person  from  attending  some  of  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning,  and  some  of  the  deaf  are  found  in 
colleges  and  professional  schools  throughout  the  country 
taking  regular  work  along  with  those  who  can  hear.  In 
1864,  a national  college  for  the  higher  education  of  the  deaf 
was  established  at  Washington,  D.C.  This  was  first  known 
as  the  National  Deaf-Mute  College,  but  in  1894,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  alumni,  the  name  was  changed  to  Gallaudet 
College,^^  in  honor  of  the  founder  of  the  first  American 
school  for  the  deaf.  This  college  is  co-educational,  and  offers 
the  regular  four-year  courses  leading  to  the  degrees  of  B.A. 
and  B.S.  It  also  offers  a year  of  preparatory  work,  and  a 
normal  course  for  those  who  ^\4sh  to  become  teachers  of  the 
deaf. 

The  Volta  Bureau.  — The  Volta  Bureau  for  the  Increase 
and  Diffusion  of  Knowledge  Relating  to  the  Deaf  was  es- 
tablished at  Washington  by  Alexander  Graham  Bell  with  the 
Volta  prize,  the  twenty-five  thousand  francs  awarded  him  by 
the  French  government  for  his  invention  of  the  telephone. 

It  has  facilitated  research  in  the  causes  of  deafness  and  in  the 
possibilities  of  preventing  deafness,  and  has  published  the 
results  of  the  various  studies  that  have  been  made,  in  the 
Volta  Review.  The  Bureau  also  sends  out  free  literature 
to  any  home  in  which  it  learns  there  is  a deaf  child,  with 
instruction  to  the  mothers  as  to  approved  methods  of  training 
the  deaf  child  in  the  home,  in  speech  and  speech  reading. , 

The  deaf  in  industry.^^  — The  deaf  are  not  handicapped  | 

to  the  same  extent  as  are  the  blind  in  the  industrial  world,  ] 

but  they  are  able  to  compete  on  a nearly  equal  basis  with  j 
the  normal  man.  There  are  very  few  occupations  which 
are  not  open  to  them,  although  in  some  deafness  is  a greater 
handicap  than  in  others.  Of  those  gainfully  employed,  about 


The  Deaf 


i8i 


90  per  cent  are  found  in  the  three  groups,  agricultural  pur- 
suits, manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits,  and  do- 
mestic and  personal  service,  about  one  half  of  these  being 
in  agriculture.  About  7 per  cent  are  engaged  in  trade  and 
transportation.  A number  are  employed  as  instructors  in 
the  schools  for  the  deaf,  but  aside  from  these,  a very  small 
number  are  found  in  professional  service.  These  latter  two 
classes  of  occupations  require  hearing  and  speaking  power  to 
a greater  extent  than  do  the  others.  It  is  generally  conceded 
that  rural  pursuits,  agriculture,  horticulture,  dairying,  and 
poultry  raising  are  particularly  suitable  for  the  deaf.  How- 
ever, many  individuals  have  risen  to  eminence  in  practically 
all  fields  of  endeavor. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  a brief  history  of  the  care  of  the  blind. 

2.  What  is  known  regarding  the  number  of  blind  in  the  United 
States  ? 

3.  What  is  said  regarding  the  age  at  which  blindness  occurs? 

4.  What  are  the  principal  causes  of  blindness? 

5.  What  important  measures  may  be  taken  that  will  materially 
lessen  the  number  of  the  blind  ? Tell  about  each. 

6.  What  proportion  of  all  blindness  may  probably  be  eliminated  ? 

7.  What  is  said  to  be  the  aim  in  the  education  of  the  blind  ? 

8.  Why  are  special  schools  necessary  for  the  blind  ? 

9.  Why  is  the  kindergarten  so  important  in  the  training  of  the 
blind? 

10.  Describe  the  alphabets  used  by  the  blind.  What  are  the 
advantages  of  the  point  system? 

11.  TeU  of  the  industrial  training  for  the  blind.  Of  training  in 
music. 

12.  What  provision  are  some  states  making  for  the  higher 
education  of  the  bhnd? 

13.  What  is  being  done  for  the  adult  blind  ? 

14.  What  libraries  have  been  established  for  the  blind,  and  how 
may  they  be  used? 

15.  Tell  about  the  blind  in  industry. 

16.  How  are  the  blind  aided  through  the  establishment  of  work- 
shops ? Through  employment  agencies  ? 


i82 


Social  Problems 


17.  Give  Hellen  Keller’s  summary  of  what  needs  to  be  done  for 
the  blind. 

18.  Give  a brief  history  of  the  training  of  the  deaf. 

19.  How  many  deaf  are  there  in  the  United  States? 

20.  At  what  age  does  deafness  most  frequently  occur? 

21.  What  is  said  of  the  ability  of  the  deaf  to  speak? 

22.  What  are  the  principal  causes  of  deafness? 

23.  What  is  said  regarding  the  prevention  of  deafness  ? 

24.  What  methods  are  employed  in  teaching  the  deaf  ? Describe 
each. 

25.  Describe  the  day  schools  for  the  deaf. 

26.  TeU  of  the  importance  of  industrial  training  in  the  education 
of  the  deaf. 

27.  What  provision  is  made  for  the  higher  education  of  the  deaf? 

28.  TeU  about  the  Volta  Bureau. 

29.  Give  an  account  of  the  deaf  in  industry. 

REFERENCES 
The  Blind 

1.  Nelson’s  Encyclopedia,  “BUnd.” 

2.  Census  Bulletin  130,  1910,  “Blind  Population  of  the  United 
States.” 

3.  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  “Blind.” 

4.  Census  Report,  “BUnd  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  10. 

5.  Census  Report,  “BUnd  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  12. 

6.  Nelson’s  Encyclopedia,  “BUnd.” 

7.  New  International  Year  Book,  1914,  “Wood  Alcohol,”  p.  32. 

8.  Helen  KeUer,  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  “ BUnd.” 

9.  Census  Report,  “Blind  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  17. 

10.  Report,  American  Association  of  Workers  for  the  BUnd,  1911, 
p.  27. 

11.  Census  Report,  “BUnd  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  18. 

The  Deaf 

12.  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  “Deaf.” 

13.  Census  Report,  “Blind  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  75. 

14.  Census  Report,  “Blind  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  72. 

15.  Census  Report,  “Blind  and  Deaf,”  1900,  pp.  81-3. 

16.  Census  Report,  “Blind  and  Deaf,”  1900,  pp.  121-32. 

17.  Volta  Review,  March,  1914,  p.  9. 


The  Deaf  183 

18.  J.  N.  Tate,  Report,  Minn.  Quarterly,  Nov.,  1914,  pp.  38-9. 

19.  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  “Gallaudet.” 

20.  Volta  Review,  June,  1914,  p.  357. 

21.  Census  Report,  “Blind  and  Deaf,”  1900,  p.  146. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Special  Report  on  the  Blind  and  Deaf,  United  States  Census. 
Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents,  Part  III. 
Smith,  Social  Pathology,  pp.  233-55. 

Reports  of  Annual  Conventions  of  American  Association  of  Workers 
for  the  Bhnd. 

Reports  of  the  New  York  Association  for  the  Blind,  111  E.  59th  St., 

N.Y. 

Volta  Review,  published  monthly  by  the  Volta  Bureau,  Washing- 
ton, D.C. 

Best,  The  Deaf : Their  Position  in  Society  and  the  Provision  for  Their 
Education  in  the  United  States. 

Wright,  What  the  Mother  of  a Deaf  Child  Ought  to  Know. 

American  Annals  of  the  Deaf,  Washington,  D.C. 

Literature,  Volta  Bureau,  Washington,  D.C. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  FEEBLE-MINDED  AND  THE  INSANE 

I.  The  mental  defective. 

1.  The  insane  and  feeble-minded  defined  and  distinguished,, 

II.  Number  of  mental  defectives. 

III.  The  feeble-minded. 

1.  Backward  child  not  feeble-minded. 

2.  Classification  of  feeble-minded. 

3.  The  Binet-Simon  test. 

4.  Causes. 

5.  Prevention. 

6.  Feeble-minded  in  institutions.  ^ 

7.  Peeble-mindedness  and  other  social  problems. 

8.  What  must  be  done. 

IV.  The  insane. 

1.  Number. 

2.  Age  and  sex. 

3.  Causes  of  insanity. 

4.  Treatment  of  the  insane. 

^ 5.  Prevention. 

V.  Cost  of  mental  defectiveness. 


The  mental  defective.  — We  have  in  the  United  States 
about  five  hundred  thousand  persons  who  are  mentally 
defective.  This  means  that  approximately  one  out  of  every 
two  hundred  of  our  population  is  abnormal  in  thought,  feeling, 
or  action.  It  is  quite  as  impossible  to  set  up  any  absolute 
standard  in  the  mental  world,  as  in  the  physical,  and  in  any 
society  are  found  all  manner  of  variations  from  what  might 
be  called  the  normal  type.  A man  may  show  mental  pecul- 
iarities, or  even  be  decidedly  queer,  and  yet  be  abundantly 
able  to  care  for  himself,  to  look  after  his  OAvn  property,  and 

184 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane  185 

even  to  perform  his  various  duties  as  a citizen. . It  is  only 
when  the  individual  is  unable  to  care  for  himself,  or  possibly 
becomes  dangerous  to  himself  or  others,  either  because  of 
the  non-development  of  his  mental  powers,  or  because  of  the 
derangement  of  his  mind,  that  he  is  classed  among  the 
mentally  defective. 

The  insane  and  the  feeble-minded  defined  and  distinguished. 
— There  are  two  general  classes  of  the  mentally  defective 
which  should  be  very  carefully  distinguished  one  from  the 
other,  the  feeble-minded  and  the  insane.  When  the  brain 
is  not  developed  normally  along  with  the  rest  of  the  body, 
feeble-mindedness  results.  When,  after  the  brain  has 
developed  normally,  it  becomes  diseased,  insanity  results. 
In  other  words,  feeble-mindedness  is  the  result  of  an  un- 
developed brain,  while  insanity  is  the  result  of  a diseased 
brain.  The  feeble-minded  are  so  from  childhood.  There 
may  be  a mental  development,  retarded  or  slowed  down  so 
that  it  stops  and  no  amount  of  training  is  able  to  continue  this 
process.  Hence  we  speak  of  feeble-mindedness  as  arrested 
development.  The  insane  become  so  after  having  passed 
through  the  normal  stages  of  development.  A person  may  live 
a great  part  of  his  life,  and  even  show  unusual  mental  powers, 
and  then  through  some  disease  of  the  brain  tissues  become 
insane.  Hence  we  speak  of  insanity  as  a derangement  of  the 
mind. 

Number  of  mental  defectives.  — From  what  has  been  said 
it  is  evident  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  know  the  exact 
number  of  either  the  feeble-minded  or  the  insane.  Many 
who  are  but  slightly  abnormal  would  undoubtedly  not  be 
reported  at  all,  while  many  others,  because  of  the  sensitive- 
ness of  relatives  or  friends,  would  not  be  reported.  A 
recent  investigation  in  the  public  schools  of  New  York 
showed  fifteen  thousand  feeble-minded  children,  or  2 per 
cent  of  the  total  number  of  school  children.^  Goddard,  one 
of  the  best  authorities  in  this  country  on  feeble-mindednesS; 


i86 


Social  Problems 


says  that . there  are  between  three  hundred  thousand  and 
four  hundred  thousand  feeble-minded  persons  in  the  United 
States. 2 It  would  be  a very  conservative  estimate  to  place 
the  total  number  of  feeble-minded  at  three  hundred  thousand, 
and  of  the  insane  at  two  hundred  thousand,  in  the  United 
States. 

Feeble-minded.  — Perhaps  the  best  definition  of  feeble- 
mindedness is  that  it  is  a “ state  of  mental  defect  existing 
from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  and  due  to  incomplete  or 
abnormal  development,  in  consequence  of  which  the  person 
affected  is  incapable  of  performing  his  duties  as  a member  of 
society  in  the  position  of  life  to  which  he  is  born.”  ^ From 
this  definition  it  is  seen  that  environment  has  something  to 
do  in  determining  whether  or  not  a person  should  be  classed 
as  feeble-minded ; that  is,  in  certain  communities  where  the 
life  is  very  simple,  a person  below  the  average  intelligence 
might  be  able  to  take  care  of  himself  and  mind  his  own 
affairs  with  no  particular  difficulty ; while  a person  with  the 
same  intelligence  might  be  quite  unable  to  care  for  himself 
in  the  more  complex  life  of  one  of  our  larger  cities. 

The  backward  child  not  feeble-minded,  — In  the  first  place, 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  confuse  the  feeble-minded  with 
the  backward  child.  In  the  backward  child  the  mental 
processes  may  take  place  more  slowly.  He  may  be  one  or 
two  years  behind  his  normal  grade  in  school,  but  still  con- 
tinue to  develop  and  may  become  highly  successful  in  life. 
For  this  class  of  children  special  schools,  or  at  least  special 
classes,  should  be  provided,  not  only  for  their  own  benefit, 
but  also  that  they  may  not  retard  the  work  of  the  normal 
child. 

Classification  of  feeble-minded.  — The  most  important 
classification  of  the  feeble-minded,  and  the  one  now  gener- 
ally accepted,  is  that  which  divides  them  into  three  groups : 
idiots,  imbeciles,  and  morons.  The  lowest  grade  is  the  idiot^ 
whose  intellectual  development  may  stop  at  any  age  under 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane 


187 


two,  but  whose  mentality  never  exceeds  that  of  a child  two 
years  old.  He  is  practically  helpless,  and  can  neither  speak 
nor  understand  when  spoken  to.  The  imbecile  is  of  a mental 
age  of  from  three  to  seven  years  inclusive.  He  can  speak, 
but  carmot  read  with  any  degree  of  understanding  of  what 
he  reads,  and  cannot  write  in  an  intelligent  manner.  The 
third  class  which  formerly  were  called  feeble-minded,  but 
which  we  now  call  morons,  have  a mental  development  above 
that  of  the  imbecile,  but  one  that  does  not  exceed  that  of  a 
child  twelve  years  of  age.  The  moron  has  been  defined  as 
“ one  who  is  capable  of  earning  his  living  under  favorable 
cir-cumstances,  but  is  incapable,  from  mental  defect  existing 
from  birth  or  from  an  early  age,  (a)  of  competing  on  equal 
terms  with  his  normal  fellows,  or  (6)  of  managing  himself  and 
his  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence.”  ^ It  is  estimated  that 
about  2 per  cent  of  the  school  population  is  feeble-minded, 
and  a very  large  proportion  of  these  are  morons.^  While 
the  idiot  and  the  imbecile  are  readily  recognized  in  any  social 
group,  the  moron  not  infrequently  passes  without  being  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  this  class.  He  may  be  quite  normal 
in  appearance,  and  able  to  talk  more  or  less  fluently.  He  may 
be  looked  upon  as  dull,  or  slow,  or  ignorant,  without  its  being 
discovered  that  he  is  actually  defective.  It  is  this  class  of 
defectives  who  are  not  so  readily  recognized  as  are  the  idiots 
and  imbeciles,  and  who  are  permitted  to  mingle  in  societ3^ 
without  any  special  care  or  restraint,  who  make  many  of 
our  social  problems. 

The  Binet-Simon  test.  — The  classification  of  the  feeble- 
minded on  the  basis  of  mental  age  has  been  made  possible 
largely  through  the  introduction  of  the  Binet-Simon  test. 
This  is  a measuring  scale  of  intelligence,  and  by  its  use  persons 
may  be  classified  according  to  their  mental  age.  A person  may 
be  thirty  years  old,  but,  because  of  arrested  development,  his 
mind  may  only  attain  to  the  “ mental  age  ” of  a child.  The 
test  for  each  mental  age  consists  in  the  performing  of  several 


i88 


Social  Problems 


simple  tasks  which  the  normal  child  of  that  age  can  easily 
perform.  The  mental  age  of  a person  is  thus  determined  by 
the  most  difficult  group  of  tests  that  he  is  able  to  pass.  This 
series  of  tests  for  measuring  the  intelligence  of  a person  was  first 
standardized  and  presented  to  the  world  by  Binet  and  Simon, 
at  Paris,  in  1908.  With  slight  modifications  and  additions, 
this  system  is  now  being  used  quite  generally  in  the  United 
States.  These  tests  enable  us  to  classify  properly  the  feeble- 
minded in  institutions,  and  to  determine  in  our  public  schools 
which  pupils  are  below  the  average,  and  which  ones  should 
be  cared  for  in  special  institutions.  They  are  also  of  great 
value  in  studying  the  relation  of  the  feeble-minded  to  crime, 
pauperism,  intemperance,  the  social  evil,  incompetency,  and 
disease. 

Causes.^  — Within  the  last  few  years  much  study  has  been 
devoted  to  the  finding  of  the  causes  of  feeble-mindedness. 
Several  of  the  institutions  now  have  trained  experts,  who  are 
not  only  studying  the  individual  cases,  but  also  tracing  back 
family  relationships  for  several  generations.  The  most 
important  feature  of  these  studies  is  the  amount  of  evidence 
collected  showing  the  relation  between  feeble-mindedness  and 
heredity.  \ large  number  of  charts  have  been  prepared 
showing  the  family  history  of  certain  defectives  as  traced 
back  for  several  generations.  These  studies  show  that  a 
mental  defect,  or  a certain  degree  of  intelligence,  is  trans- 
mitted from  one  generation  to  another  just  as  truly  and  as 
accurately  as  are  the  various  physical  characteristics,  such 
as  stature,  or  the  color  of  the  eyes  or  hair. 

From  the  amount  of  evidence  collected  it  would  seem 
that  by  far  the  most  important  of  all  the  causes  of  feeble- 
mindedness is  that  of  heredity.  It  is  now  generally  accepted 
that  from  65  to  75  per  cent  of  all  the  cases  of  feeble- 
mindedness are  due  to  hereditary  influences.®  In  the  list 
of  causes  of  feeble-mindedness  as  published  by  different 
institutions,  a very  great  variety  is  found.  These  causes 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane  189 

are  those  assigned  by  parents  or  physicians,  and  include 
such  as  neglect,  abuse,  convulsions,  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever, 
a fall  when  a baby,  a blow  on  the  head,  and  many  others. 
A careful  study  of  the  family  history,  however,  has  shown 
that  a large  proportion  of  these  are  due  to  hereditary  in- 
fluences, rather  than  to  the  assigned  cause. 

Among  the  other  causes  may  be  mentioned  accidents 
before,  at,  or  after  birth,  and  disease.  Of  the  diseases  which 
may  cause  feeble-mindedness,  meningitis  is  the  most  fre- 
quent. There  are  also  certain  diseases  such  as  the  inflam- 
mation of  the  covering  of  the  brain,  the  wasting  of  the  gray 
cells,  the  softening  and  hardening  of  some  parts  of  the  brain, 
the  stoppage  or  weakening  of  the  blood  vessels  of  the  brain, 
and  the  stoppage  of  the  functioning  of  the  ductless  glands, 
all  of  which  may  lead  to  feeble-mindedness.  Drunkenness, 
immorality,  and  other  vices  undoubtedly  cause  a consid- 
erable amount  of  feeble-mindedness,  although  the  exact  pro- 
portion due  to  these  causes  is  not  determined. 

Prevention.  — Our  ablest  physicians  and  surgeons  hold 
out  no  hope  that  any  great  numbers  of  the  feeble-minded  can 
be  cured.  It  is  true  that  many  cases  of  retarded  develop- 
ment have  been  helped  by  the  skill  of  the  surgeon,  as  in  the 
relieving  of  a pressure  upon  a certain  portion  of  the  brain, 
or  by  the  physician,  as  in  the  giving  of  relief  where  feeble- 
mindedness is  due  to  the  absence  of  the  thyroid  gland.  The 
number  of  cases,  however,  that  can  be  cured  or  even  materi- 
ally helped  by  such  treatment,  is  very  small.  The  only  effec- 
tive way  of  materially  lessening  the  number  of  feeble-minded 
is  by  the  cutting  off  of  those  hereditary  lines  through  which 
the  nu'mbers  are  being  constantly  replenished.  There  are  oc- 
casional sporadic  cases,  sometimes  appearing  in  the  best  of 
families  for  which  no  cause  can  be  assigned.  One  of  the 
best  known  groups  of  defectives,  the  Mongolian,^  is  supposed 
to  be  entirely  free  from  any  hereditary  influences.  They  are 
so  called  because  of  their  round  faces  and  slanting  eyes,  which 


Social  Problems 


190 

resemble  the  Asiatic  or  Mongolian  type  of  countenance.  This 
class  is  more  often  found  in  the  better  families,  and  in  families 
in  which  no  other  defectives  are  found.  Their  mentality  is 
almost  always  that  of  a four-year-old  child.  No  way  of 
lessening  the  number  of  this  class  is  known  at  the  present 
time.  When  all  the  feeble-minded  persons  in  the  country 
are  segregated  in  those  institutions  which  are  expressly 
for  their  care,  and  are  kept  there  until  they  die,  never  being 
allowed  to  marry,  then  only  will  we  have  made  any  real 
progress  toward  wiping  out  this  defect  from  our  midst. 
It  is  not  expected  that  we  shall  ever  be  able  entirely  to 
eliminate  this  defect.  However,  through  proper  segregation, 
there  is  no  reason  why  a very  large  amount  of  feeble-minded- 
ness should  not  be  eliminated. 

Feeble-minded  in  institutions.  — Of  the  total  number  of 
feeble-minded  in  the  United  States,  about  twenty  thousand 
are  being  cared  for  in  institutions  for  the  feeble-minded, 
about  sixteen  thousand  in  almshouses,  about  five  thousand 
in  hospitals  for  the  insane,  and  about  twentj^-six  thousand 
in  prisons  and  reformatories.^  Manifestly  neither  the 
prison  nor  the  reformatory,  neither  the  hospital  for  the 
insane  nor  the  almshouse,  is  the  place  for  the  feeble-minded. 
Only  about  one  tenth  of  the  feeble-minded  are  cared  for  in 
proper  institutions.^ 

It  w’as  not  until  the  year  1837  that  we  had  the  “ real 
beginning  of  the  systematic  rational  training  of  mental 
defectives,  which  has  gone  on  from  that  day  to  this.”  Before 
this  time  thers  had  been  two  or  three  unsuccessful  attempts 
to  establish  schools  for  the  training  of  the  feeble-minded,  and 
in  1835  the  first  institution  for  the  care  of  idiots  (not  for  their 
education)  was  established  in  Germany.  The  name  that 
stands  out  most  prominently  in  connection  with  the  work 
for  the  feeble-minded  is  that  of  Edouard  Seguin  of  France. 
Because  he  was  the  founder  of  the  first  school  for  this  class 
of  defectives,  and  because  of  the  impetus  which  he  gave  to 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane  191 

the  study  and  training  of  the  mentally  defective,  he  is  often 
referred  to  as  “ The  Apostle  of  the  Idiot.’’  After  the  Revo- 
lution of  1848  in  France,  Seguin  came  to  the  United  States. 
He  remained  in  this  country,  devoting  the  greater  part  of  his 
hfe  to  personal  work  in  the  early  American  institutions, 
and  to  studying  and  devising  methods  for  the  training  of 
feeble-minded  children.  The  first  schools  in  the  United 
States  were  founded  in  Massachusetts  and  New  York  about 
1850,  largely  as  the  result  of  the  influence  of  Seguin  and  of 
Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  who  had  become  much  interested  in  the 
work  that  Seguin  had  done  in  France.^® 

It'  was  formerly  thought  that  with  time  and  patience  many 
of  the  feeble-minded  might  be  so  trained  that  they  could  take 
their  place  along  with  normal  individuals  in  society.  Further 
study  of  this  class,  however,  has  caused  us  to  become  less  opti- 
mistic. It  is  now  conceded  that  no  amount  of  training  could 
ever  prepare  very  many,  if  any,  of  this  class  to  take  their 
place  in  society  independent  of  any  supervision  or  restraint. 
Their  weakness  being  caused  by  arrested  development,  there 
is  simply  no  mental  foundation  on  which  to  build.  This 
does  not  mean  that  their  training  should  be  neglected.  The 
most  appropriate  training  for  the  feeble-minded  person  is 
determined  by  his  mental  age.^^  For  the  lowest  group,  the 
idiots,  about  all  that  can  be  done  is  to  give  them  custodial 
care ; that  is,  to  secure  for  them  the  satisfaction  of  their 
physical  wants  and  to  keep  them  in  decent  and  cleanly 
surroundings.  The  next  class,  the  imbeciles,  or  those  with  a 
mental  age  from  two  to  seven  years,  can  be  trained  to  care 
for  themselves  and  to  do  many  tasks  about  the  institu- 
tion. For  the  third  group,  the  morons,  or  those  of  a mental  > 
age  of  from  seven  to  twelve  years,  training  is  very  essential. 
Not  only  can  they  be  taught  to  do  many  things  of  a routine 
character,  but  may  even  acquire  a considerable  degree  of 
proficiency  in  the  use  of  tools  and  farm  implements.  They 
have  become  quite  proficient  in  some  of  the  simpler  occupa- 


192 


Social  Problems 


tions,  such  as  carpet-weaving,  broom-making,  carpentry, 
painting,  masonry,  dressmaking,  tailoring,  and  farm  work. 
Many  of  them  can  earn  good  wages  at  these  different  occu- 
pations when  under  proper  supervision,  but  they  all  need 
this  supervision.  Large  numbers  of  this  class  are  thus  able 
to  contribute  quite  materially  to  their  own  support,  and 
it  is'  estimated  that  from  20  to  30  per  cent,  under  proper 
direction,  may  become  fully  self-supporting.^  Most  insti- 
tutions now  have  a school  department  where  those  who 
have  the  capacity  are  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  to  do 
simple  arithmetic  problems.  Much  emphasis  is  placed  on 
gymnastic  exercises  in  the  training  of  these  different  classes. 
The  exercises  are  given  to  stimulate  their  mental  processes 
as  well  as  to  strengthen  them  physically. 

The  purpose  of  an  institution  for  the  care  of  this  class 
has  been  well  summarized  by  the  superintendent  of  one  of 
the  newest  state  institutions  for  the  feeble-minded  and 
epileptic,  that  of  Letch  worth  Village.  He  says  that  it  is : 
first,  a home  where  the  feeble-minded  and  epileptic  of  all 
ages  may  be  given  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  the  ordinary 
home ; second,  a'  school  where  suitable  training  will  be  given 
to  all  of  school  age;  third,  a laboratory  where  scientific 
studies  shall  be  conducted  of  all  questions  pertaining  to 
feeble-mindedness ; fourth,  a workshop  where  this  vast 
amount  of  energy  can  be  kept  by  the  state,  and  utilized  in 
such  a way  that  its  charges  shall  be  happy,  and  society 
protected.^*^ 

Feeble-mindedness  and  other  social  problems.  — The  impor- 
tance of  institutional  care  for  the  feeble-minded  is  recognized 
when  we  consider  the  many  ways  in  which  mental  deficiency 
is  interwoven  with  some  of  the  most  serious  social  problems 
of  to-day.  Four  of  the  greatest  social  problems  that  we 
have  before  us  in  the  United  States  are  those  which  have  to 
do  with  poverty,  crime,  vice,  and  intemperance.  The  wel- 
fare of  any  people  is  largely  dependent  upon  their  success  in 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane  193 

the  solution  of  these  problems.  Much  has  already  been 
done,  and  is  being  done,  toward  checking  the  growth  of  each 
of  these  evils.  Many  of  the  states  have  already  made  pro- 
vision for  those  individuals  who  through  their  unsocial  con- 
duct occasion  these  blots  on  our  social  life,  but  as  yet  no 
state  has  given  anything  like  adequate  attention  to  real 
preventive  measures. 

In  considering  the  question  of  poverty  it  is  found  that 
probably  half  of  the  paupers  in  our  almshouses  are  feeble- 
minded.These  inmates  are  there  because  they  did  not 
have  the  mentaUty  to  care  for  themselves ; yet  many  of 
them  have  been  permitted  to  marry  and  thus  to  propagate 
their  own  kind.  Every  inmate  of  every  almshouse  should 
be  examined  as  to  his  mental  condition,  and  when  it  is  found 
that  his  being  there  is  due  primarily  to  feeble-mindedness, 
he  should  be  permanently  segregated.  In  this  way  future 
society  would  be  saved  from  large  numbers  of  those  who 
would  inevitably  faU  into  the  ranks  of  the  paupers. 

In  our  study  of  crime  we  find  that  about  the  same  pro- 
portion, one  half,  of  all  criminals  are  mentally  defective. 
In  our  prisons  probably  from  25  to  50  per  cent  are  men- 
tally defective  and  incapable  of  managing  their  affairs  with 
ordinary  prudence.”  A careful  study  of  the  mentality  of 
the  inmates  of  some  fifteen  of  the  principal  reformatories 
and  institutions  for  dehnquents  of  the  country  showed  from 
60  to  80  per  cent  to  be  mentally  defective.  Many  of 
these  people,  although  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age, 
have  only  a mental  age  of  from  eight  to  ten  years.'  A careful 
study,  using  the  Binet  test,  of  one  hundred  young  women 
recently  admitted  to  Bedford  Reformatory,  showed  that, 
while  their  average  age  was  about  twenty  years  and  nine 
months,  their  average  mental  age  was  only  ten  years.^^  These 
persons  who  had  only  the  mental  capacity  of  little  girls  of  ten 
years  had  been  sentenced  to  a reformatory  rather  than  to  a 
school  for  feeble-minded  where  they  belonged.  That  they 
o 


194 


Social  Problems 


were  feeble-minded  should  have  been  discovered  long  before 
when  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  their  school  period,  and 
provision  should  have  been  made  for  their  care  in  institutions, 
before  they  were  left  on  society  unguided  and  unguarded, 
free  to  commit  those  crimes  for  which  they  were  sent  to 
reformatories.  They  were  feeble-minded,  and  consequently 
irresponsible.  A tragic  phase  of  this  situation  is  that  many 
of  these,  after  completing  short  sentences,  are  again  thrust 
back  into  their  old  life  only  again  to  commit  some  crime  against 
society.  Every  inmate  of  an  institution,  particularly  of  those 
for  juvenile  delinquents,  should  be  examined,  and,  if  found 
mentally  deficient,  should  be  cared  for  as  feeble-minded, 
rather  than  dealt  with  as  a criminal. 

Again,  in  the  study  of  vice  conditions  in  our  large  cities  we 
find  that  feeble-mindedness  is  a very  large  factor.^®  A 
careful  mental  examination  of  one  hundred  and  four  girls 
sentenced  to  the  Geneva  Reformatory  because  of  immoral 
lives  showed  that  97  per  cent  were  feeble-minded.  Of 
the  immoral  women  who  live  in  vice  in  our  cities,  it  is 
estimated  that  at  least  50  per  cent  are  feeble-minded. 
That  is,  though  many  of  these  are  adults  physically,  in 
mentality  they  are  like  children  of  six,  eight,  or  ten  years  of 
age.  When  we  consider  this  fact  we  see  what  a disgrace  it 
is  that  society  has  not  protected  these  people,  as  well  as  itself, 
by  recognizing  their  weakness  and  providing  for  their  care 
earlier  in  fife.  The  utter  senselessness  of  fines  or  short- 
term jail  sentences  for  this  class  is  very  apparent. 

Although  we  do  not  know  definitely  just  what  proportion  of 
feeble-mindedness  is  caused  by  alcoholism,  or  what  pro- 
portion of  alcoholism  is  caused  by  feeble-mindedness,  we 
do  know  that  a large  proportion  of  confirmed  drunkards  are 
feeble-minded.^^  A person  of  low  intelligence  who  is  lacking 
in  judgment  and  will  power  to  control  his  actions  naturally 
is  one  of  the  first  to  yield  to  any  sort  of  temptation  which 
may^  beset  him.  He  has  little  control  over  his  appetite,  and 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane 


195 


has  no  understanding  of  the  consequences  of  indulgence. 
Inasmuch  as  feeble-mindedness  is  the  cause  of  much  intem- 
perance, in  our  attempt  at  enumerating  these  evils,  we  must 
not  overlook  this  important  factor.  The  drunken  sot  in 
many  instances  should  have  been  cared  for  long  since  in  some 
institution  for  the  feeble-minded,  rather  than  now  be  sen- 
tenced over  and  over  again  to  a short  period  in  some  jail  or 
workhouse. 

All  this  does  not  imply  that  if  we  could  eliminate  all 
feeble-mindedness,  we  should  cure  such  evils  as  poverty, 
crime,  vice,  and  intemperance,  but  it  does  show  us  that  we 
cannot  hope  to  go  very  far  in  the  solution  of  these  problems 
and  overlook  so  important  a contributing  factor  to  every  one 
of  them  as  is  feeble-mindedness. 

What  must  he  done.^  — In  no  field  of  social  activity  is  there 
greater  need  of  intelligent,  effective  work  than  in  the  care 
cf  the  mentally  deficient.  Adequate  provision  must  be 
made  for  the  nine  tenths  of  the  feeble-minded  who  are  now 
mingling  in  society  under  no  supervision  or  restraint,  unable 
to  compete  on  equal  terms  with  their  normal  fellows,  or  to 
manage  themselves  and  their  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence. 
Those  in  our  almshouses,  prisons,  jails,  and  reformatories 
must  be  subjected  to  mental  tests,  and  when  found  to  be 
feeble-minded  they  must  be  permanently  cared  for  in  institu- 
tions for  the  feeble-minded.  Legislation  must  be  passed  mak- 
ing it  possible  to  commit  and  hold  the  feeble-minded  in  in- 
stitutions just  as  effectively  as  the  insane  are  committed,  for 
much  too  frequently  parents  are  either  unwilling  that  a child 
shall  be  sent  to  a school  for  the  feeble-minded,  or,  after  the 
child  has  improved  somewhat  in  such  a school,  the  parent 
too  soon  takes  him  back  into  the  home.  Further  study 
must  be  made  of  the  racial  and  social  evils  of  degeneracy,  of 
the  nature  and  power  of  heredity ; and,  above  . all,  every 
effort  must  be  made  to  disseminate  as  widely  as  possible 
such  facts  as  we  have  regarding  the  prevalence  and  effects 


196 


Social  Problems 


of  feeble-mindedness,  and  regarding  the  measures  for  its 
preventions^ 

The  insane.  — Insanity  may  be  defined  as  “ a disorder  of 
the  mind,  due  to  disease  of  the  brain  manifesting  itself  by  a 
more  or  less  prolonged  departure  from  the  individuaFs  usual 
manner  of  thinking,  feeling,  and  acting,  and  resulting  in  a 
lessehed  capacity  for  adaptation  to  the  environment.’’ 
There  are  a great  many  different  forms  of  these  abnormal 
mental  states,  — so  many  that  it  has  been  suggested  that  it 
would  be  more  appropriate  to  speak  of  the  insanities  as 
representing  different  forms  of  insanity,  than  to  use  the 
term  in  the  singular. 

Number.  — We  have  said  that  two  hundred  thousand  was 
probably  a very  low  estimate  of  the  total  number  of  insane 
in  the  United  States.  The  last  census  showed  that  in  1910 
there  were  187,791  persons  in  institutions  for  the  insane  in  our 
country.^®  This  does  not  include  the  insane  in  almshouses 
or  prisons,  or  the  large  numbers  in  those  states  in  which  no 
adequate  provision  has  been  made  for  their  care.  Dr. 
Barker,  president  of  the  National  Committee  for  Mental 
Hygiene,  estimates  that  there  are  now  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  insane  people  in  the  United  States.^^ 

There  were  about  four  and  a half  times  as  many  in  the 
institutions  for  the  insane  in  our  country  in  1910  as  in  1880.^^ 
This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  the  number  of  insane 
in  the  United  States  has  increased  in  anything  like  this  pro- 
portion. The  principal  reason  for  this  apparent  increase 
is  the  advance  that  has  been  made  by  the  different  states  in 
caring  for  this  class,  a much  larger  proportion  now  being 
placed  under  institutional  care  than  formerly.  Other 
reasons  for  the  apparent  increase  in  the  proportion  of 
insane  are : the  more  humane  and  more  scientific  methods 
used  in  the  care  of  those  in  institutions,  which  materially 
lengthens  their  term  of  life;  the  increase  in  the  average 
length  of  life  of  all  individuals,  which  brings  many  more 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane 


197 


people  to  the  age  at  which  inganity  is  liable  to  occur ; greater 
skill  in  detecting  the  first  indications  of  insanity,  and  com- 
mitment before  the  insanity  has  been  allowed  to  reach  an 
advanced  stage  of  development ; more  adequate  provision 
for  the  legal  commitment  of  those  known  to  be  insane ; and, 
finally,  the  better  treatment  of  the  insane  in  hospitals,  and 
the  better  understanding  of  the  work  and  functions  of  these 
hospitals  for  the  insane  have  led  to  less  aversion  on  the  part 
of  friends  and  relatives  to  sending  the  afflicted  to  such  places. 
Although  these  factors  may  explain  away  a large  proportion 
of  the  apparent  increase  in  the  number  of  our  insane,  the 
fact  still  remains  that  to  the  present  time,  at  least,  insanity 
has  been  somewhat  on  the  increase,  due  to  the  growing  ten- 
sion of  modern  life,  and  to  the  great  increase  in  our  urban,  as 
compared  with  our  rural,  population. 

Age  and  sex.  — That  insanity  is  almost  exclusively  a 
disease  of  adults  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  average 
age  when  first  admitted,  of  all  of  those  in  institutions  for  the 
insane  when  the  last  census  was  taken,  was  about  thirty- 
seven  and  a half  years.^^  It  is  further  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  while  the  median  age  of  the  general  population  is 
twenty-four,  for  the  enumerated  insane  it  was  forty-four. 
There  are  almost  ten  thousand  more  men  than  women  in 
our  institutions  for  the  insane.^®  About  the  same  proportion 
in  the  excess  of  males  is  found  in  the  number  of  those  admitted 
to  hospitals  in  1910.  This  excess  in  the  number  of  males 
is  due  almost  exclusively  to  greater  intemperance  and 
immorality  on  the  part  of  men.  When  we  leave  out  of 
consideration  these  two  causes  for  insanity,  the  proportion  of 
males  and  females  is  found  to  be  almost  exactly  equal. 

Causes  of  insanity.  — There  are  a great  number  and  variety 
of  causes  which  may  bring  about  insanity.  Some  of  these 
causes  are  very  clearly  defined,  while  others  are  much  more 
complex.  Of  all  causes,  undoubtedly  the  most  important 
is  heredity.  It  is  not  that  a particular  form  of  insanity  is 


Social  Problems 


198 

inherited,  but  rather  a mental  instability,  or  a predispo- 
sition to  insanity.  This  predisposition  toward  insanity  is  not 
always  evidenced  by  insanity  in  the  family  history.  This 
neurotic  taint,  as  it  is  called,  may  manifest  itself  in  various 
mental  disorders  such  as  extreme  nervousness,  epilepsy, 
hysteria,  or  merely  in  erratic  or  eccentric  peculiarities. 
Again,  heredity  may  be  indirectly  a cause  in  many  instances, 
as  in  the  case  of  a person  who  has  inherited  a weak  men- 
tality, and  who  is  therefore  led  more  easily  into  vice  and 
intemperance,  which  may  ultimately  cause  insanity.  Also, 
..  the  marriage  of  two  persons  in  whose  ancestry  there  is  the 
neurotic  taint,  intensifies  that  predisposition  in  the  next 
generation.  It  is  impossible  to  give  exact  figures  regarding 
cases  of  hereditary  insanity.  In  many  cases  relatives  or 
friends  of  the  insane  will  deny  that  there  is  any  hereditary 
taint.  In  other  cases  the  family  histories  are  not  known  for 
more  than  a generation  or  two  back.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  about  two  thirds  of  all  the  cases  admitted  to  insane 
hospitals  occur  on  the  heredity  basis.^® 

Perhaps  the  next  most  important  of  the  causes  of  insanity 
are  those  growing  out  of  immorality  and  intemperance. 
One  of  the  worst  possible  forms  of  insanity  is  that  known 
as  general  paresis.  This  is  a serious  brain  disease  causing 
mental  and  physical  decay,  eventually  ending  in  death.  It 
is  now  recognized  that  this  form  of  insanity  is  caused  by  an 
earlier  disease,  which  in  turn  is  the  direct  result  of  vice  and 
immorality.  A recent  report  on  the  causes  of  insanity  signed 
by  nine  of  the  most  prominent  medical  experts  on  mental 
diseases,  says  that  “ the  number  of  patients  having  paresis 
admitted  to  state  hospitals  every  year  is  20  per  cent 
of  all  men  admitted  and  8 per  cent  of  all  women  ad- 
mitted.’’ A study  of  the  causes  of  insanity,  as  given  in  the 
reports  of  a large  number  of  institutions  both  in  this  and  other 
countries,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  20  per  cent  is  a 
very  conservative  estimate  of  the  proportion  of  insanity  in 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane 


199 


which  alcohol  is  the  direct  or  indirect  cause.^^  In  addition 
to  the  alcoholic  insanities,  the  effect  of  alcohol  even  in  small 
quantities,  upon  the  brain  and  nerve  tissues,  is  to  lower 
the  mental  capacity,  and  it  “ helps  to  bring  about  a number 
of  mental  breakdowns.”  26 

There  are  many  other  poisons,  such  as  opium,  heroin, 
morphine,  cocaine,  which  weaken  the  mental  powers 
and  produce  insanity.  Certain  infectious  diseases,  such  as 
typhoid  fever,  diphtheria,  smallpox,  cerebrospinal  menin- 
gitis and  others,  may  leave  poisons  in  the  system  which 
interfere  with  the  regular  functions  of  the  body  and  cause 
mental  ahenation.  Tuberculosis,  and  'diseases  of  the 
arteries,  heart,  and  kidneys,  or  injuries  to  the  head  may  be 
mentioned  among  the  physical  causes  of  insanity. 

Overwork  and  exhaustion,  especially  when  accompanied 
by  depletion  of  the  blood,  may  result  in  mental  breakdown. 
Such  causes,  and  any  great  mental  or  moral  shock,  mental 
stress  or  worry,  uncontrolled  grief,  or  intense  excitement, 
may  bring  about  a more  or  less  serious  derangement  of  the 
mind. 

Treatment  of  the  insane.  — In  the  history  of  the  treatment 
of  the  insane  four  fairly  distinct  periods  may  be  recognized. 
The  first  period  may  be  characterized  as  that  of  neglect. 
Even  down  through  the  Middle  Ages  insanity  was  looked 
upon  as  a visitation  of  the  gods,  the  victims  often  being 
supposed  to  be  possessed  of  demons.  They  were  ordinarily 
left  alone  unless  they  were  known  to  be  dangerous,  in  which 
case  they  were  often  treated  as  witches,  and  were  not  in- 
frequently burned  at  the  stake,  and  in  other  ways  cruelly 
tortured. 

The  second  period  is  referred  to  as  the  era  of  detention. 
This  period  roughly  covers  the  years  from  the  beginning  of 
the  fifteenth  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Institutions  were  provided  in  Italy,  Belgium,  England,  and 
in  1732  in  Pennsylvania,  for  the  detention  of  the  insane. 


200 


Social  Problems 


These  places  of  detention  were  looked  upon  as  asylums  for 
lunatics  rather  than  as  hospitals,  and  most  cruel  and  barba- 
rous methods  prevailed  in  the  treatment  of  the  poor,  unfortu- 
nate inmates.  They  were  often  thrust  into  dark  and  prison- 
like cells,  or  kept  in  cages  like  wild  animals.  They  were 
often  compelled  to  live  in  extreme  filth,  with  no  other  bedding 
than  straw,  with  little  or  no  clothing,  and  often  weighted 
down  with  great  chains. 

The  third  period  is  that  of  humanitarian  treatment.  It 
was  not  until  the  close  of  the  French  Revolution  that  Pinel 
inaugurated  the  movement  in  some  of  the  French  hospitals 
of  treating  the  insane  more  as  human  beings.  He  removed 
their  shackles,  and  introduced  humane  methods  to  take 
the  place  of  the  barbarities  which  he  found.  Since  his  time 
more  humane  and  more  scientific  ways  of  dealing  with  this 
class  have  been  gradually  introduced  throughout  our  country, 
although,  unfortunately,  even  yet  we  occasionally  find  insane 
in  our  almshouses  or  jails  treated  quite  as  barbarously  as  in 
the  times  before  Pinel. 

There  followed,  fourth,  the  period  of  the  scientific  treatment 
of  insanity.  We  are  gradually  entering  into  the  period 
in  which  we  look  upon  insanity  as  “a  disease  and  not  a 
doom,”  — a period  characterized  by  a more  humane  treat- 
ment of  the  insane ; a scientific  study  of  forms,  causes,  and 
methods  of  dealing  with  insanity;  and  by  the  attempt, 
through  the  application  of  medical  and  social  measures,  to 
lessen  this  disease.  Mechanical  restraint,  and  medicinal 
restraint  through  the  use  of  narcotics,  are  now  being  largely 

replaced  by  hydrotherapy,  massage,  and  other  non-medical 
agents.” 

Effort  is- made  to  remove  the  patient  from  the  exciting 
causes  which  may  have  provoked  the  attack,  to  secure  for 
him  rest  and  change  of  surroundings,  and  particularly  to 
build  up  his  physical  health.  Amusements,  recreation,  and 
useful  employment  are  provided  for  such  as  can  profit  by 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane 


201 


them.  As  the  result  of  the  introduction  of  these  newer  and 
more  scientific  methods  in  the  treatment  of  the  insane,  nearly 
one  fourth  of  all  those  admitted  to  our  state  hospitals  are 
cured,  and  nearly  as  many  more  are  sufficiently  improved  to 
be  permitted  to  return  to  their  homes. 

A very  great  need  to-day  is  for  a more  complete  classifica- 
tion, and  segregation  of  particular  classes  of  the  insane,  and 
the  providing  of  separate  institutions  for  these  special 
classes.  Special  institutions  should  be  provided  for  the 
epileptics,  and  also  for  the  alcoholic  insane.  Neither  of  these 
classes  should  be  included  with  the  other  insane,  since  they 
each  require  distinct  methods  of  treatment.  Another  class 
which  should  be  dealt  with  separately  is  the  criminal  insane.^^ 
In  most  states  even  to-day  no  separate  asylum  is  provided  for 
this  class,  and  the  insane  criminals  are  sometimes  sent  to  the 
insane  hospitals,  sometimes  to  poor  farms,  and  sometimes 
to  the  state  prisons,  where  occasionally  separate  wards  are 
provided  for  their  care.  The  more  advanced  states  are  now 
providing  suitable  institutions  to  which  persons  may  be 
sent  who  become  insane  while  serving  a prison  sentence,  or 
who  are  acquitted  of  crime  on  the  ground  of  insanity. 

Prevention.  — It  is  now  estimated  that  about  40  per 
cent  of  insanity  is  preventable.^®  The  large  amount  of 
insanity  due  to  hereditary  influences  may  be  materially 
lessened  through  a more  effective  segregation  of  the  mentally 
unfit.  As  society  comes  to  recognize  the  part  that  immoral- 
ity and  intemperance  play  in  causing  insanity,  it  is  probable 
that  more  effective  social  action  will  be  taken  looking  toward 
the  elimination  of  these  two  great  causes.  Although  not 
many  forms  of  insanity  are  amenable  to  medical  treatment, 
yet  there  are  certain  forms  which  it  is  thought  may  be  con- 
trolled more  effectively  with  the  advance  of  medical  and 
surgical  skill.  It  is  recognized  that  there  is  a much  greater 
chance  for  the  cure  of  insanity  when  treatment  of  the  patient 
can  begin  at,  or  soon  after,  the  appearance  of  the  first  symp- 


202 


Social  Problems 


toms  of  the  disease.  The  last  census  report  on  the  insane 
showed  that  one  third  of  those  admitted  to  institutions  had 
suffered  the  attack  a year  or  more  before  admission,  while  in 
nearly  one  tenth  of  the  cases  reported  the  attack  had  lasted 
six  years  or  more  before  admission  to  the  hospitals.  Earlier 
recognition  of  the  symptoms  of  insanity,  and  earlier  commit- 
ment to  hospitals,  are  important  factors  in  increasing  the 
proportion  of  curable  insane. 

Social  service  is  now  considered  an  important  adjunct 
to  the  proper  treatment  of  the  insane.  A number  of  the  best 
hospitals  have  now  organized  social  service  departments. 
The  social  worker  may  help  the  individual  in  various  ways. 
A person  may  become  so  worried  over  the  fear  that  he  is 
going  to  be  insane  as  to  be  actually  in  danger  of  having  his 
fears  realized.  The  social  worker  through  advice  and  the 
statement  of  facts  may  allay  this  fear  and  so  check  the 
tendency.  He  may  help  to  allay  a common  prejudice  on  the 
part  of  relatives  or  friends  against  having  a person  committed 
to  the  hospital,  and  may  frequently  give  valuable  advice 
regarding  the  need  of  medical  or  hospital  care,  and  the  way 
in  which  such  care  may  be  secured.  He  may  also  be  of  great 
benefit  to  the  discharged  patient,  assisting  him  to  find  suitable 
work,  and  to  take  his  place  again  in  society.  As  a friend 
and  adviser  he  may  make  it  possible  for  certain  persons, 
though  somewhat  mentally  disordered,  to  carry  on  their 
work  and  support  their  families,  when  these  persons,  without 
such  supervision  and  advice,  would  probably  have  to  be  sent 
to  an  institution.  In  these  ways  the  social  worker,  through 
intelligent  advice  and  friendship,  may  not  only  prevent 
certain  persons  from  becoming  insane,  but  may  also  be  of 
great  assistance  in  recognizing  symptoms,  and  in  securing 
early  treatment  for  those  needing  institutional  care. 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  in  connection  with  the  pre- 
vention of  insanity,  is  the  increased  attention  that  is  now 
being  given  to  the  subject.  Many  of  the  leading  institutions 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane  203 

for  mental  defectives  now  have  special  departments  for  the 
study  of  all  phases  of  mental  disorders.  Our  medical  colleges 
and  universities  are  also  giving  considerable  attention  to 
this  same  study.  In  1909,  a National  Committee  for  Mental 
Hygiene  was  founded,  largely  as  a result  of  the  work  done  in 
this  field  by  Clifford  W.  Beers,  the  author  of  Mind  that 
Found  ItseK.”  Mr.  Beers  suffered  an  attack  of  mental 
disorder  in  1900,  recovering  some  few  years  later,  and  in  this 
book  he  gives  an  account  of  his  experiences  in  various 
hospitals  for  the  insane.  He  has  since  been  devoting  his  time 
and  energy  to  the  cause  of  mental  hygiene.  This  mental 
hygiene  movement  is  a well-organized  endeavor  to  lessen  the 
social,  moral,  and  economic  effects  of  mental  deficiency. 
The  three  main  lines  of  their  work  are  : first,  original  inquiry 

regarding  the  present  care  of  the  mentally  defective,  the 
opportunities  for  betterment  of  conditions,  and  the  causes 
and  prevention  of  mental  diseases ; second,  popular  education, 
the  disseminating  of  information  regarding  the  social  signif- 
icance of  this  question,  together  with  such  information  as  is 
now  available  regarding  the  care,  treatment,  and  prevent- 
able causes  of  mental  diseases ; and  third,  the  organization  of 
agencies,  federal,  state,  and  local,  to  cooperate  in  this  work. 

Cost  of  mental  defectiveness.  — The  average  annual  cost 
for  each  patient  in  institutions  for  the  insane  in  the  United 
States  is  about  $175.  This  means  that  institutional  care 
for  the  insane  is  costing  the  people  of  the  United  States  more 
than  thirty-two  million  dollars  yearly.  In  New  York,  nearly 
one  sixth  of  the  total  expenditures  of  the  state  is  for  the 
insane.  This  enormous  cost  is  merely  for  those  in  insti- 
tutions, and  does  not  include  that  of  caring  for  those  out- 
side institutions,  the  many  costs  before  commitment,  or  the 
economic  loss  to  society  of  the  earning  capacity  of  this  large 
number  of  people  who  are  thus  taken  out  of  the  industrial 
field. These  items  consider  the  cost  merely  from  the 
standpoint  of  dollars  and  cents. 


204 


Social  .Problems 


The  per  capita  cost  for  caring  for  the  feeble-minded  is 
about  the  same  as  that  for  the  insane,  but  the  indirect  costs 
to  society,  of  feeble-mindedness,  are  far  greater  than  those 
of  insanity. 

From  a social  and  moral  point  of  view  the  cost  to  society 
of  mental  diseases  and  mental  inefficiency  cannot  even  be 
estimated,  as  this  must  take  into  consideration  not  only  the 
mental  and  physical  suffering  of  the  individual,  but  also  the 
part  that  this  class  plays  in  increasing  the  amount  of  pauper- 
ism, intemperance,  immorality,  and  crime,  and  finally  the 
affliction  that  is  visited  upon  the  future  generation  through 
the  inheritance  of  these  mental  deficiencies.  This  enormous 
cost  has  the  greater  significance  for  us  when  we  realize  the 
large  amount  of  both  insanity  and  feeble-mindedness  which 
is  preventable. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  How  many  mentally  defective  are  there  in  the  United  States  ? 
Who  are  included  in  this  class  ? 

2.  Distinguish  between  the  insane  and  the  feeble-minded.  What 
is  the  estimated  number  of  each? 

3.  What  is  said  regarding  the  backward  child? 

4.  • Classify  the  feeble-minded.  Give  characteristics  of  each 
class. 

5.  Tell  about  the  Binet-Simon  test. 

6.  What  are  the  principal  causes  of  feeble-mindedness? 

7.  Discuss  the  prevention  of  feeble-mindedness.  \ 

8.  How  many  of  the  feeble-minded  are  cared  for  in  institutions  ? \ 

In  proper  institutions  ? j 

9.  Give  a brief  history  of  the  training  of  mental  defectives. 

10.  What  training  is  possible  for  the  different  classes  of  the 
feeble-minded  ? 

11.  What  is  the  fourfold  purpose  of  institutions  for  the  care  of  ^ 
the  feeble-minded  ? 

12.  What  is  said  regarding  the  relation  between  feeble-minded- 
ness and  poverty  ? Crime  ? Vice  ? Intemperance  ? 

13.  Define  insanity.  < 

14.  How  many  insane  are  there  in  institutions  in  the  United 


The  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Insane 


205 


States  ? How  does  tliis  compare  with  the  number  thirty  years  ago  ? 
How  is  this  increase  explained? 

15.  What  is  said  regarding  the  age  of  the  insane?  The  sex? 

16.  What  are  the  principal  causes  of  insanity  ? 

17.  What  four  periods  may  be  recognized  in  the  history  of  the 
treatment  of  the  insane?  Characterize  each  period. 

18.  What  are  some  of  the  newer  methods  in  the  treatment  of 
the  insane  ? 

19.  What  percentage  of  insanity  is  considered  preventable? 
Through  what  measures? 

20.  TeU  about  social  service  as  an  important  adjunct  to  the 
treatment  of  the  insane. 

21.  Tell  about  the  National  Committee  for  Mental  Hygiene. 

22.  What  is  said  regarding  the  cost  of  mental  defectiveness  ? 

REFERENCES 

1.  The  Independent,  April  17,  1913. 

2.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  Its  Causes  and  Consequences, 
p.  582. 

3.  Goddard,  p.  4. 

4.  Goddard,  p.  6. 

5.  Goddard,  Ch.  IV. 

6.  Goddard,  The  Kallikak  Family,  p.  106. 

Rogers,  Seventh  Biennial  Report  of  the  Minnesota  State 
Board  of  Control,  July,  1914,  p.  205. 

7.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  p.  450. 

8.  H.  H.  Hart,  The  Survey,  May  24,  1913,  p.  279. 

9.  Johnstone,  The  Survey,  March  2,  1912,  p.  1864. 

10.  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  “Schools  for  Defectives.” 

11.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  Ch.  X. 

12.  Little,  The  Survey,  March  2,  1912,  p.  1869. 

13.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  p.  17. 

14.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  pp.  7-9. 

15.  Catherine  Bement  Davis,  The  Survey,  March  2,  1912. 

16.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  pp.  13-5. 

17.  Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  p.  570. 

18.  The  Survey,  “Editorial,”  January  18,  1913. 

19.  Cyclopedia  of  Education,  “Insanity.” 

20.  Census,  1910,  Report,  “Insane  and  Feeble-minded,”  p.  22. 

21.  Publication  No.  IV,  National  Committee  for  Mental  Hygiene. 

22.  Census  Report,  1910,  “Insane  and  Feeble-minded,”  p.  12. 


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Social  Problems 


23.  Warner,  American  Charities,  p.  321. 

Census  Report,  “Insane  and  Feeble-minded,”  pp.  13-4. 

24.  Census  Report,  “Insane  and  Feeble-minded,”  p.  60. 

25.  Proceedings  of  Mental  Hygiene  Conference,  1912,  p.  79. 

26.  Report  121,  of  the  Mental  Hygiene  Committee. 

27.  Ellwood,  Charities  and  Corrections,  1914,  p.  306. 

28.  Warner,  American  Charities,  pp.  325-7. 

29.  Leonard,  “Criminal  Insane,”  The  Survey,  October  21,  1911. 

30.  Proceedings  of  Mental  Hygiene  Conference,  1912,  p.  34. 

31.  Report  of  the  National  Committee  for  Mental  Hygiene, 

August,  1914,  p.  7. 

32.  Report  of  the  National  Committee  for  Mental  Hygiene, 

August,  1914,  p.  12. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Goddard,  Feehle-mindedness,  Its  Causes  and  Consequences,  a re- 
markable study  showing  the  relation  between  feeble-minded- 
ness and  such  other  social  problems  as  poverty,  crime,  and 
intemperance. 

Tredgold,  Mental  Deficiency. 

Fernald,  History  of  the  Treatment  of  the  Feeble-r Minded  in  America. 

Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents,  Part  III. 

Warner,  American  Charities,  Part  II,  Chs.  XI  and  XII. 

Census  Report,  “Insane  and  Feeble-minded,”  1910. 

Smith,  Social  Pathology,  pp.  198-232. 

“ Summary  of  State  Laws  Relating  to  Dependent  Classes,”  Bureau 
of  the  Census,  1913. 

Goddard,  The  Kallikak  Family. 

Kuhlmann,  The  Binet  and  Simon  System  for  Measuring  the  Intelli- 
gence of  Children,  reprinted  from  Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics, 
Vol.  XV. 

Mercier,  Crime  and  Insanity. 

Beers,  A Mind  that  Found  Itself. 

Proceedings  of  Mental  Hygiene  Conference,  and  other  publications 
of  the  Committee  on  Mental  Hygiene  of  the  State  Charities 
Aid  Association,  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER  XI 


CRIME  AND  PUNISHMENT 

I.  What  is  crime  ? 

1.  Definition. 

2.  Classification. 

II.  Extent  of  crime. 

1.  Statistics. 

2.  Increase  or  decrease? 

III.  Change  in  the  forms  of  crime. 

IV.  Causes. 

1.  Individual. 

2.  Social. 

V.  Changing  attitude  toward  crime  and  criminals. 

1.  Retribution. 

2.  Repression. 

3.  Reformation. 

4.  Prevention. 

VI.  Certain  features  of  the  modern  treatment  of  criminals. 

1.  Classification  of  prisoners. 

2.  Graded  system. 

3.  Parole. 

4.  Indeterminate  sentence. 

5.  Cumulative  sentence. 

6.  Probation. 

7.  Miscellaneous  reforms. 

VII.  Prison  labor. 

1.  Lease  system. 

2.  Contract  system. 

3.  Piece-price  system. 

4.  Pubhc-account  system, 

5.  State-use  system. 

6.  Public  works  system. 

VIII.  The  juvenile  offender. 

> 1.  The  Juvenile  Court. 

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What  is  crime  ? — Definition.  — Crime  has  been  defined 
as  “ any  act,  or  omission  to  act,  punished  by  society  as  a 
wrong  against  itself.’’  ^ From  this  definition  it  may  be 
seen  first,  that  a crime  may  be  either  an  act  of  commission 
or  of  omission,  — a violation  of  the  law  “ Thou  shalt  not,” 
or  of  the  law  “ Thou  shalt.”  In  the  earlier  and  simpler 
stages  of  society,  the  individual  was  frequently  restrained 
from  doing  certain  things,  the  doing  of  which  was  held  to 
be  against  the  best  interests  of  society.  As  society  has 
grown  more  complex,  the  individual  has  not  only  been 
restrained  from  certain  acts,  but  also  compelled  to  do  other 
things,  the  failure  to  do  which  is  considered  against  social 
interests.  Much  of  modern  social  legislation  is  of  this 
positive  sort,  such  as  that  requiring  the  manufacturers  of 
food  products  and  patent  medicines  to  label  their  goods 
honestly,  the  factory  owner  to  take  due  precaution  for  the 
health  and  safety  of  his  employees ; and  in  many  instances 
requiring  the  individual  to  do  things  for  the  greater  common 
good. 

In  the  second  place,  the  act  in  itself  is  not  a crime  unless 
it  is  recognized  and  punished  by  society  as  a wrong  against 
itself ; that  is,  society  through  conscious  action  determines 
what  it  wishes,  or  does  not  wish,  done.  Some  of  the  most 
serious  offenses  are  not  infrequently  continued  for  a long 
time  before  society  becomes  aroused  to  the  extent  of  en- 
deavoring to  check  them.  The  plundering  of  our  natural 
resources,  and  the  needless  destruction  of  life  and  limb  in 
our  industries,  however  serious  they  may  be,  are  not  crimes 
until  they  are  in  violation  of  the  rules  laid  down  by  society. 

Vice  has  been  defined  as  an  offense  against  one’s  self; 
sin  as  an  offense  against  God  or  a transgression  of  the  divine 
law;  and  crime  as  a violation  of  the  laws  of  man.  The 
most  common  division  of  crime  is  into  felonies  and  mis- 
demeanors. Felonies  are  the  more  serious  transgressions, 
such  as  are  punishable  by  death  or  imprisonment  in  the 


Crime  and  Punishment 


209 


state  prison.  Misdemeanors  are  the  lesser  crimes  such  as 
are  ordinarily  punished  by  fines,  or  imprisonment  in  the 
jails  or  workhouses.^  The  difference  between  a felony  and 
a misdemeanor  is  thus  primarily  in  the  degree  of  the  offense, 
and  owing  to  the  varying  standards  of  punishment  in  the 
different  states,  what  is  a felony  in  one  state  may  be  a 
misdemeanor  in  another,  while  in  still  another  state,  the 
same  offense,  because  of  lack  of  legal  enactments,  might 
not  be.  a crime  at  all. 

Classification  of  crimes.  — It  is  almost  impossible  to  give 
any  complete  classifications  of  crimes,  because  of  the 
differences  in  the  criminal  codes  of  the  different  countries, 
and  of  the  various  states  in  our  own  country.  Perhaps  as 
simple  and  concise  a classification  as  we  have  to-day,  is  the 
one  made  some  years  ago  by  Sir  James  Stephen  in  his  “ His- 
tory of  the  Criminal  Law  in  England.”  He  divides  crimes 
into  the  five  general  groups  : (1)  attacks  upon  public  order ; 
(2)  abuses  and  obstructions  of  public  authority;  (3)  acts 
injurious  to  the  public  in  general ; (4)  attacks  upon  the 
persons  of  individuals ; (5)  attacks  upon  the  property  of 
individuals.^ 

Another,  grouping  of  crimes  which  hardly  aims  at  a com- 
plete classification,  but  which  is  very  frequently  found  in 
the  discussions  of  crime,  is : (1)  offenses  against  the  state 
and  pubhc  order,  such  as  treason,  forgery,  counterfeiting,  and 
inciting  to  riot;  (2)  offenses  against  the  person,  such  as 
murder,  manslaughter,  assault,  intimidation,  personal  in- 
jury ; (3)  offenses  against  property,  such  as  burglary, 

robbery,  larceny,  embezzlement,  obtaining  money  by  false 
pretenses,  receiving  stolen  goods,  and  the  malicious  de- 
struction of  property.^ 

Extent  of  crime.  — Statistics.^  — Each  year  about  five 
hundred  thousand  persons  commit  crimes,  in  punishment 
for  which  they  are  committed  to  some  penal  or  reformatory 
institution.  This  by  no  means  indicates  the  total  amount 

p 


210 


Social  Problems 


of  crime  in  the  country,  for  many  of  those  who  commit 
crimes  are  not  apprehended,  many  others  succeed  in  escap- 
ing through  the  meshes  of  the  law,  while  still  others  are  let 
off  with  mere  fines.  A prison  population  is  an  ever-changing 
population,  the  average  number  at  any  one  time  being  about 
one  fourth  of  the  total  number  of  commitments  during  the 
yeat.  On  January  first,  1910,  the  total  number  of  prisoners 
and  juvenile  delinquents  in  the  United  States  was  one 
hundred  thirty-six  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy-two. 
Of  this  total  number,  there  were  approximately  ten  times 
as  many  males  as  females.  The  proportion  of  foreign-born 
was  15.3  per  cent,  this  being  slightly  in  excess  of  their  pro- 
portion of  the  entire  population  (14.7  per  cent).  Nearly 
one  third  of  this  total  number  (42,631)  were  colored.  About 
25,000  of  the  total  number  were  in  institutions  for  juvenile 
delinquents,  the  remainder  (111,498)  being  in  the  prisons, 
penitentiaries,  jails,  and  workhouses.  Of  the  various  kinds 
of  crime  for  which  these  persons  were  convicted,  about  two 
fifths  were  for  offenses  against  property,  about  one  fifth 
for  offenses  against  the  person,  and  a little  more  than  one 
tenth  for  drunkenness  and  disorderly  conduct. 

Increase  or  decrease?  — As  to  whether  or  not  crime  is  on 
the  increase  in  the  United  States,  we  have  no  definite  in- 
formation. This  is  because  of  the  careless  way  in  which 
data  regarding  crimes  are  kept,  and  because  of  the  fluctua- 
tions in  what  constitutes  crime  in  the  different  states, 
many  acts  listed  as  crimes  in  the  laws  of  one  state  not  being 
crimes  under  the  laws  of  a neighboring  state.  While  it  is 
true  that  the  total  number  in  our  penal  institutions  has 
increased  within  the  past  few  years  somewhat  more  rapidly 
than  has  our  population,  this  may  indicate  an  increase  in 
the  amount  of  crime;  a greater  vigor  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  law;  or  it  may  indicate  that  several  new  offenses 
have  been  added,  through  legislation,  to  the  list  of  those 
punishable  as  crimes.  In  communities  where  the  general 


Crime  and  Punishment 


2II 


moral  standard  is  low,  many  offenses  are  overlooked  which 
would  be  punished  in  communities  with  higher  standards. 
Also,  the  public  sentiment  in  certain  communities  may  be 
out  of  sympathy  with  some  particular  phases  of  legislation, 
such  as  temperance  legislation,  and  consequently  make  no 
effort  to  apprehend  the  violators  of  these  laws.  Thus  the 
number  of  convictions  is  not  always  a true  index  to  the  actual 
amount  of  crime  in  any  community. 

Changing  conditions  have  necessitated  a great  number  of 
new  laws.  The  development  of  our  factory  system  has 
made  necessary,  laws  regulating  the  conditions  of  labor. 
The  crowding  together  in  our  cities  has  called  for  laws  regu- 
lating the  conditions  of  living.  The  change  in  the  methods 
of  manufacture  has  given  rise  to  a great  number  of  laws 
aiming  to  protect  the  public  from  frauds  and  deceptions. 
The  introduction  of  automobiles  has  brought  many  or- 
dinances regulating  the  control  of  the  automobile  traffic. 
We  already  have  laws  looking  to  the  regulation  of  wire- 
less telegraphy,  and  can  even  now  foresee  possible  future 
legislation  for  the  control  of  aerial  navigation.  It  has  been 
said  that  within  the  last  twenty-five  years  more  laws  have 
been  put  on  the  statute  books  than  during  all  the  previous 
history  of  the  republic.® 

A single  new  law,  such  as  the  Pure  Food  Law,  may  add 
thousands  of  offenses  to  those  punishable  as  crimes.  Judge 
Gemmill  of  the  Municipal  Court  of  Chicago  has  pointed  out 
that  of  the  sixteen  thousand  people  of  all  ages  and  sexes,  who 
were  charged  with  misdemeanors  before  the  municipal  court  of 
Chicago  in  1912,  more  than  one  half  “ were  accused  of 
violating  laws  which  did  not  exist  fifteen  years  ago.” 
He  very  emphatically  denies  that  crime  is  increasing,  and 
says  that  the  reason  more  people  are  arrested  now  than 
formerly  is  that  very  often  offenses  now  are  counted  as 
crimes  which  a few  years  ago  had  no  recognition  as  such.”  ® 

Such  statistics  as  we  have  regarding  crime  in  the  European 


212 


Social  Problems 


countries  ^ do  not  indicate  any  decisive  change  within  the 
past  few  years.  The  figures  would  seem  to  indicate  a slight 
decrease  in  France,  Switzerland,  Austria,  and  Denmark, 
and  a slight  increase  in  Belgium,  the  Netherlands,  Germany, 
and  Italy.  Australia  shows  a marked  decrease  in  the  num- 
ber of  convictions  for  serious  crime  throughout  the  twenty- 
five'  year  period  from  1881  to  1906.  In  England,  where 
the  methods  of  detection  and  identification  of  criminals,  as 
well  as  the  whole  system  of  criminal  court  procedure,  are 
probably  the  most  advanced  in  the  world,  and  where  the 
most  reliable  data  is  collected,  the  figures  show  a very  sub- 
stantial decline  in  the  criminahty  of  the  country.  Careful 
records  have  been  kept  of  all  the  proved  crime  in  the  country, 
both  minor  and  grave,  for  the  thirty  years  between  1880 
and  1910.  A shght  decrease  is  shown  in  the  number  of 
minor  crimes,  and  a very  conspicuous  decrease  in  the  more 
serious  ones,  indicated  by  a fall  in  the  daily  average  convict 
population  in  a proportion  of  ten  to  three  during  this  thirty 
years.  During  the  same  period  the  population  of  the  country 
increased  about  ten  milhon.* 

Change  in  the  forms  of  crime.  — When  one  reads  accounts 
of  conditions  that  prevailed  throughout  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, one  begins  to  realize  what  a change  has  taken  place, 
at  least  in  the  form  of  crimes.  Lecky,  in  his  “ England  in 
the  Eighteenth  Century,”  says  ® that  “ the  impunity  with 
which  outrages  were  committed  in  the  ill-fit  and  ill-guarded 
streets  of  London,  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  can  now  hardly  be  realized.”  He  speaks  of  the 
many  atrocities  that  were  committed  throughout  this 
period,  of  the  mutilation  and  otherwise  inhiunan  treatment 
of  the  victims  by  robber  gangs,  of  the  many  hold-ups  and 
robberies,  and  of  how  highwaymen  ‘‘  infested  the  roads  near 
London.”  He  says  that  “ every  kind  of  crime  was  con- 
cocted with  impunity,  and  every  conspirator  knew  where  i 
to  look  for  daring  and  unscrupulous  agents.”  Horace  I 


Crime  and  Punishment 


213 


Walpole  is  quoted  as  having  written  in  1751,  One  is  forced 
to  travel,  even  at  noon,  as  if  one  were  going  to  battle  ’’ ; 
and  one  gang  of  robbers  in  1753  was  said  to  have  kept  all 
London  in  alarm  “ from  the  number  and  skill  of  their  robber- 
ies, and  the  savage  wounds  they  inflicted  on  their  victims/’ 
Piracy  and  smuggling  were  two  very  common  crimes  of  this 
period  and  were  often  accompanied  by  the  most  daring  and 
ferocious  outrages. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  there  has  been  a great 
decrease  in  the  number  of  these  more  serious,  coarser,  and 
more  brutal  crimes.  Certain  classes  of  crime,  such  as  those 
characteristic  of  a superstitious  age,  offenses  against  the 
prevailing  rehgion,  and  the  many  phases  of  lese-majeste, 
have  largely  disappeared  from  our  present  category  of  crimes.^® 
In  place  of  these,  there  are  many  new  classes  of  crimes  — 
crimes  characteristic  of  our  changing  civilization.  As 
society  advances,  and  as  it  becomes  conscious  of  itself,  new 
standards  are  demanded  of  the  individuals.  Actions  for- 
merly accepted  without  protest  are  now  prohibited.  There 
are  always  some  individuals  who  are  antagonistic  to  ad- 
vancing social  standards,  and  when  their  actions  are  rec- 
ognized as  harmful  to  society,  these  actions  are  added  to 
the  hst  of  crimes. 

The  developing  of  modern  commercialism  has  been  accom- 
panied by  a great  increase  in  the  number  of  crimes  based  on 
violation  of  trust  and  confidence,  and  the  inordinate  desire 
for  rapid  gains.  It  is  in  the  more  subtle,  more  refined 
ways,  that  the  criminal  tendencies  of  men  to-day  show  them- 
selves. Instead  of  the  former  type  of  criminal,  we  have 
“ the  man  who  picks  pockets  with  a railway  rebate,  murders 
with  an  adulterant  instead  of  a bludgeon,  burglarizes  with  a 
‘ rake  ofl  ’ instead  of  a jimmy,  cheats  with  a company 
prospectus  instead  of  a deck  of  cards,  or  scuttles  his  town 
instead  of  his  ship.”  Instead  of  the  vulgar  bandit  or  assas- 
sin, we  have  “ the  slaying  of  the  quack,  the  adulterator, 


214 


Social  Problems 


and  the  purveyor  of  polluted  water.’’  Instead  of  the  child 
beater,  we  have  “ the  exploiter  of  infant  toil,  or  the  concocter 
of  a soothing  sirup  for  the  drugging  of  babies.”  Instead 
of  the  red-handed  slayer,  we  have  “ the  venal  mine  in- 
spector, the  seller  * of  infected  milk,  the  maintainer  of  a 
fire-trap  theater.”  Ross  says  that  “ the  villain  most  in 
need  of  curbing  to-day  is  the  respectable,  trusted  personage 
who  is  able  from  his  office-chair  to  pick  a thousand  pockets, 
pollute  a thousand  minds,  or  imperil  a thousand  lives.” 
These  newer  and  more  subtle  forms  of  crime  may  be  just  as 
serious  as,  and  may  even  affect  a far  greater  number  of 
people  than,  the  older  and  seemingly  more  barbarous  crimes 
of  the  last  century. 

When  one  considers  the  great  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  the  kinds  of  crime,  one  realizes  how  difficult,  almost 
impossible,  it  is  to  determine  with  any  degree  of  definiteness 
whether  or  not  crime  as  a whole  is  increasing  or  decreasing. 
The  more  important  thing  for  us  is  to  recognize  these  changes 
that  have  come  about,  and  that  the  new  type  of  criminal 
must  be  dealt  with  by  society  just  as  summarily  as  was  the 
old. 

Causes.  — Individual.  — Among  the  more  important 
factors  leading  to  the  individual’s  predisposition  toward 
crime  may  be  mentioned  heredity,  education  and  training, 
habits,  and  occupation.  Although  to-day  we  do  not  accept 
the  theory  of  a distinct  criminal  type,  nor  the  theory  of 
the  transmission  of  acquired  characteristics,  we  do  recognize 
that  heredity  plays  an  important  part  in  determining 
criminal  tendencies.  It  is  not  that  the  criminal  inherits  a 
predisposition  toward  crime,  but  that  he  inherits  certain 
physical  and  mental  weaknesses  which  often  determine 
these  criminal  tendencies.  The  criminal  is  often  of  an  under- 
developed type,  one  who  bears  very  evident  signs  of  physical, 
mental,  and  moral  degeneration.  Studies  of  such  degener- 
ate types  of  families  as  the  Jukes  and  the  Kallikaks  show 


Crime  and  Punishment 


215 


an  unusual  number  of  criminals.  Recent  tests  of  those 
sentenced  to  our  reformatories  and  industrial  schools  have 
shown  a considerable  proportion  to  be  below  the  average 
mentahty.  The  mentally  weak  and  deficient  have  less 
power  to  conform  to  social  standards,  and  are  more  prone  to 
yield  to  the  many  temptations  about  them. 

While  education  does  not  prevent  crime,  and  some  of  our 
very  worst  criminals  are  very  highly  educated,  still  there 
is  no  question  but  that  education  and  training  prove  strongly 
deterrent  factors.  The  study  of  the  criminals  in  any  of  our 
penal  institutions  shows  a very  large  proportion  who  have 
had  not  even  a common  school  education.  Dr.  Rock  Sleys- 
ter.  Prison  Physician  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Prison,  made  a 
careful  investigation  of  269  murderers  who  had  been  sen- 
tenced to  that  institution.  Of  this  total  number  of  men, 
he  found  that  about  a third  had  never  been  to  school,  a 
half  had  reached  the  fourth  grade,  and  but  3 per  cent  had 
finished  high  school. Of  all  the  prisoners  in  the  Michigan 
State  Prison  at  Jackson,  nine  tenths  had  failed  to  complete 
even  a common  school  course.^®  The  discipline  of  the  school- 
room, the  training  in  self-control,  and  the  forming  of  habits 
of  application  and  industry  strengthen  the  individual  for 
his  place  in  the  social  and  industrial  world.  Through 
religious  and  moral  training  are  developed  higher  ideals,  and 
the  stability  of  character  required  to  live  up  to  these  ideals. 
Industrial  education  prepares  a man  for  a place  in  the  field 
of  industry,  and  thus  opens  up  for  him  an  honest  vocation. 
The  individual  with  little  or  no  preparation  for  the  making 
of  a living,  who  has  not  been  disciplined  in  self-control,  and 
lacks  the  strengthening  influences  of  moral  and  religious 
training,  will  far  more  frequently  be  found  among  the  crimi- 
nal classes  than  the  one  whom  education  and  training  have 
fitted  to  take  his  normal  place  in  society. 

An  individual  normally  strong  may  become  so  weakened 
through  habits  as  to  yield  readily  to  criminal  impulses. 


2i6 


Social  Problems 


Any  habit  which  tends  to  weaken  the  will  power  or  to  deaden 
the  moral  sensibilities  is  a cause  of  crime.  Habits  of  idle- 
ness undoubtedly  lead  many  to  follow  a life  of  crime  rather 
than  one  of  honest  effort.  Through  habits  of  intemperance — 
the  use  of  narcotics,  drugs,  and  alcoholic  drinks  — the  will 
power  is  weakened,  the  conscience  dulled,  and  this  leads  to 
crime.  That  the  prisoners  themselves  realize  this  relation 
between  intemperance  and  crime  is  shown  by  the  recent 
petition  drafted  by  them,  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  in 
Pennsylvania.  In  this  petition  they  charge  that  70  per  cent 
of  the  crime  in  the  state  is  due  to  the  excessive  use  of  in- 
toxicating liquors,  and  ask  for  the  enactment  of  a state- 
wide prohibition  law.^^ 

Although  occupation’ll  a minor  factor,  it  has  its  influence 
in  that  certain  occupations  offer  temptations  of  a particular 
kind.  Certain  occupations  also  are  wont  to  be  carried  on 
under  conditions  and  amid  surroundings  which  would  tend 
to  weaken  the  moral  fiber  of  any  individual.  Seasonable 
occupations,  with  their  periods  of  work  followed  by  periods 
of  idleness,  are  conducive  to  dissipation  and  crime.  The 
lack  of  any  occupation  is  a far  greater  cause  of  crime  than 
any  particular  occupation  in  itself.  Of  the  269  murderers 
above  referred  to,  it  was  found  that  90  per  cent  had  begun 
work  before  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  that  more  than  one 
half  of  them,  although  averaging  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
had  never  learned  a trade  or  become  skilled  in  any  line  of 
work.i® 

Social  causes.  — Although  it  is  the  individual  who  com- 
mits the  crime,  we  are  coming  more  and  more  to  realize 
that  social  and  economic  conditions  have  great  influence 
upon  the  individual.  The  environment  of  any  individual, 
particularly  through  his  period  of  growth  and  development, 
largely  determines  his  line  of  conduct.  Of  the  influences 
in  his  environment,  that  of  the  home  has  undoubtedly  the 
greatest  bearing  on  the  individual’s  future  life  and  conduct. 


Crime  and  Punishment 


217 


It  is  here  that  we  have  the  beginnings  of  educational,  moral, 
and  religious  influences.  The  lack  of  these  socializing  in- 
fluences of  the  home  greatly  increases  the  number  of  delin- 
quent children.  It  has  been  shown  that  a very  large  pro- 
portion of  those  in  our  reformatory  institutions  have  been 
denied  healthful  home  surroundings.  When  we  consider 
the  number  of  children  who  are  brought  up  in  our  large^ 
cities,  deprived  of  home  life,  and  surrounded  by  all  manner 
of  vicious  and  immoral  influences,  the  wonder  is  that  more 
of  them  do  not  become  criminals.  The  only  playground 
for  many  children  is  the  street,  and  the  only  places  of  amuse- 
ment for  the  young  people  are  the  music  halls,  dance  halls, 
saloons,  gambling  houses,  and  cheap  theaters,  all  of  which 
tend  to  increase  the  amount  of  vice  and  crime.  The  lurid 
accounts  of  crime  in  the  dime  novel,  its  exploitation  in  the 
daily  press  often  in  a most  detailed  and  sensational  manner, 
and  its  portrayal  in  the  moving  picture  show,  create  an  un- 
healthful atmosphere,  and,  through  the  power  of  suggestion, 
tend  to  arouse  the  criminal  instincts  in  the  individual.  While 
a person  naturally  strong  may  rise  above  his  environment, 
a person  lacking  in  strength  and  will  power  is  influenced  by 
his  surroundings,  and,  where  these  are  adverse,  easily  falls 
into  criminal  ways. 

When  economic  conditions  are  favorable,  when  there  is 
plenty  of  work  to  be  had  and  at  good  wages,  there  is  apt  to 
be  less  crime  than  in  periods  of  economic  depression.  When 
industry  is  slack,  wages  are  lower,  and  many  people  are 
thrown  out  of  employment.  At  such  times  there  is  an  in- 
crease in  want  and  misery,  which  is  apt  to  be  followed  by 
many  petty  thefts  and  robberies,  and  not  infrequently  by 
an  increasing  number  of  crimes  of  violence.  Idleness,  with 
its  accompanying  discontent,  is  always  conducive  to  crime. 

A lack  of  law  enforcement  is  another  important  factor. 
Many  of  our  large  cities  have  had  veritable  epidemics  of 
lawless  acts,  due  to  a weak  administration  and  an  inefficient 


2i8 


Social  Problems 


police  force.  Thefts,  burglaries,  and  even  daylight  hold- 
ups, become  a frequent  occurrence,  and  these  are  invariably 
accompanied  by  crimes  of  a still  more  serious  nature.  Not 
infrequently  we  have  seen  such  conditions  remedied  almost 
immediately  on  the  selection  of  an  efficient,  vigorous  mayor, 
determined  on  law  enforcement. 

There  is  also  serious  need  to-day  for  reform  in  our  criminal 
court  procedure.  One  cause  of  lynching,  and  of  other  instances 
in  which  people  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  is  the 
lack  of  confidence  in  our  criminal  court  procedure.  So 
many  cases  have  arisen  where  the  trial  has  been  long 
drawn  out,  where  the  offender  has  escaped  punishment 
through  some  technicality  in  the  law,  or  where  some  very 
wealthy  offender,  through  technicalities  and  appeals,  has 
been  able  to  defy  the  law  and  defeat  the  ends  of  justice, 
that  there  has  resulted  a weakening  in  the  regard  for  the 
law  and  for  the  courts.  Where  there  are  many  difficulties 
and  delays  in  the  meting  out  of  justice,  there  will  naturally 
be  more  crime  than  when  we  have  just  laws,  strictly  enforced, 
and  a general  understanding  among  all  classes  that  any 
violation  of  law  will  be  speedily  and  summarily  dealt  with. 
One  of  the  causes  of  the  decreasing  amount  of  crime  in  England 
is  the  reform  in  the  criminal  court  procedure.  In  probably 
no  other  country  is  the  offender  pursued  more  relentlessly, 
or  is  justice  meted  out  with  more  swiftness  and  certainty. 

The  general  moral  standards  of  any  community  have  great 
influence  in  determining  the  amount  of  crime  in  that  com- 
munity. Where  there  is  a weak  public  sentiment^  and  where 
the  whole  moral  tone  of  a community  is  low,  when  the  people 
look  with  complacency  upon  vice  and  crime,  there  is  bound 
to  be  an  increase  of  both.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the 
moral  standards  are  high,  and  when  there  is  a strong  vigorous 
sentiment  demanding  law  enforcement,  many  of  the  cor- 
rupting influences  of  the  community  will  be  eliminated,  and 
the  amount  of  crime  reduced  to  a minimum.  ' 


Crime  and  Punishment 


219 


The  wretched  conditions  in  many  of  our  jails,  prisons,  and 
reformatories,  with  their  lack  of  classification  of  criminals, 
have  been  the  cause  of  many  first  offenders  becoming 
hardened  criminals,  and  have  thus  indirectly  contributed 
to  the  amount  of  crime. 

Changing  attitude  toward  crime  and  criminals.  — Society, 
in  dealing  with  crime  and  criminals,  has  passed  through 
four  fairly  well-defined  stages : retribution,  repression, 

reformation,  and  prevention.  These  stages  have  not  been 
mutually  exclusive,  but  as  society  has  advanced  increasing 
emphasis  has  been  laid  upon  the  successive  principles ; 
until  now,  with  the  most  advanced  peoples,  while  not 
losing  sight  of  the  other  three  principles,  the  greatest  im- 
portance is  attached  to  the  prevention  of  crime. 

Among  the  earlier  people,  the  idea  of  retribution  very 
largely  prevailed.  The  idea  of  an  eye  for  an  eye,  a tooth 
for  a tooth,  was  found  in  their  criminal  codes,  and  our  at- 
titude toward  the  criminal  is  not  yet  free  from  the  natural 
instinct  of  retaliation. 

It  was  a great  step  in  advance  when  the  idea  of  retribution 
was  gradually  supplemented  by  the  idea  of  repression.  Then 
punishment  was  looked  upon  rather  as  a means  of  deterring 
individuals  from  committing  crimes  in  the  future  than  as 
retaliation  for  some  act  already  committed.  It  was  in 
accordance  with  this  principle  that  some  of  the  most  cruel 
and  unusual  forms  of  intimidation  and  torture  were  devised, 
such  as  drawing,  breaking  on  a wheel,  mutilation,  brand- 
ing, flogging,  burning  at  the  stake,  crucifixion,  and  many 
other  terrible  punishments,  some  of  which  continued  down 
to  the  past  century.  According  to  this  principle  it  was  held 
that  persons  would  be  restrained  from  committing  crime 
in  proportion  to  the  severity  of  the  punishments  that  were 
inflicted.  After  centuries  of  experience,  people  began  to 
realize  the  truth  of  the  adage  that  crime  thrives  upon  severe 
penalties.  At  no  time  in  the  history  of  England  was  crime 


220 


Social  Problems 


more  rampant  than  when  even  the  most  minor  offenses 
were  dealt  with  in  the  harshest  manner.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century,  some  two  hundred  offenses,  many  of 
them  very  slight,  were  punishable  by  death ; yet  crime  never 
flourished  more  vigorously  than  during  this  period.  “ Social 
protection  is  secured  not  by  severity  but  by  certainty  of 
punishment.’^ 

The  next  forward  step  was  taken  when  reformation  of 
the  criminal  began  to  be  considered.  It  was  not  until  the 
eighteenth  century  that  there  was  any  general  development 
of  the  reformatory  idea.  The  name  that  stands  out  pre- 
eminently in  the  history  of  prison  reform  is  that  of  John 
Howard.^®  He  was  born  near  London  in  1726,  and  died  of 
the  plague  in  Russia  in  1790,  having  devoted  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  to  the  bettering  of  prison  conditions.  It 
whs  he  more  than  any  one  else  who  acquainted  the  people 
with  the  terrible  conditions  in  the  prisons  in  England  and 
on  the  continent,  called  the  attention  of  the  pubhc  to  the 
ineffectiveness  of  the  modes  of  punishment  prevailing,  and 
appealed  for  a more  just  and  humane  treatment  of  the 
prisoner.  It  was  in  this  way  that  he  laid  the  foundation 
for  many  of  the  modern  reformatory  methods  in  the  treat- 
ment of  criminals.  It  is  only  within  the  past  few  decades 
that  the  reformatory  idea  has  gained  much  headway  in  the 
United  States.  The  Elmira  Reformatory  was  opened  in 
1876,  and  since  then  a number  of  reformatories  have  been 
established  in  the  various  states,  each  one  looking  not  so 
much  to  the  punishment  of  the  individual  as  to  his 
reformation. 

To-day  we  would  go  a step  farther.  While  we  believe  in 
doing  everjdhing  possible  for  the  reform  of  criminals,  we 
believe  that  it  is  far  more  important  to  prevent  the  individual 
from  becoming  a criminal;  that  is,  emphasis  now  is  being 
strongly  placed  on  the  prevention  of  crime.  Some  of  the 
many  causes  of  crime  have  been  mentioned : flrst,  those 


I 


Crime  and  Punishment 


221 


working  more  directly  through  the  individual ; and,  second, 
certain  social  influences  and  conditions  which  cause  crime 
indirectly  through  their  reaction  upon  the  individual. 
When  the  many  and  varied  causes  are  considered,  it  is 
evident  that  we  cannot  rely  upon  any  one  remedy  to  elimi- 
nate crime. 

It  is  equally  evident  that  much  may  be  done  toward 
lessening  or  removing  many  of  these  predisposing  influences. 
Through  the  segregation  of  the  unfit,  many  of  the  weaker 
criminal  elements  in  our  population  may  be  eliminated. 
Through  the  higher  development  of  our  educational  system, 
a better  enforcement  of  our  compulsory  school  attendance 
laws,  the  extension  of  industrial  training,  and  through  more 
effective  religious  and  moral  training,  a smaller  number  will  • 
be  left  weak‘  and  unprepared  for  life.  Everything  which 
betters  the  conditions  surrounding  the  life  of  the  individual 
wall  tend  to  make  him  better  and  stronger,  and  thus  less 
prone  to  commit  acts  of  lawlessness  and  dishonesty.  The 
wiping  out  of  the  slums,  the  improving  of  tenement  house 
conditions,  the  establishing  of  parks  and  playgrounds,  and 
the  bettering  of  conditions  of  labor,  will  lessen  the  in- 
fluences which  make  for  crime.  All  forms  of  vice  and 
intemperance,  with  their  weakening  influence  upon  the  in- 
dividual, are  prolific  causes  of  crime ; and  consequently 
every  movement  which  tends  toward  their  elimination  will 
have  its  influence  in  preventing  crime.  Likewise  every 
effort  put  forward  to  lessen  the  amount  of  poverty  and 
unemployment,  to  better  economic  conditions,  and  to  wipe 
out  corruption  in  business  and  politics,  will  have  its  in- 
fluence toward  this  end.  The  improving  of  our  penal  system 
and  the  general  acceptance  of  the  reformatory  idea  will  re- 
turn many  first  offenders  to  society  as  useful  citizens,  rather 
than  as  hardened  criminals.  Finally,  in  order  that  we  may 
reduce  the  amount  of  crime  to  a minimum,  there  must  be 
a strong,  vigorous,  moral  and  religious  sentiment,  standing 


222 


Social  Problems 


firmly  for  uprightness  and  justice,  and  one  which  mil  not 
tolerate  degrading  and  demoralizing  influences. 

Certain  features  of  the  modern  treatment  of  criminals.  — 
Classification  of  'prisoners.  — A few  years  ago  no  attempt 
was  made  at  the  classification  of  criminals.  The  young 
and  the  old,  the  first  offender  and  the  professional  criminal, 
were  herded  together  and  all  accorded  like  treatment.  It  is 
evident  that  such  varying  t}T>es  of  criminals  should  be  ac- 
corded treatment  adapted  to  their  particular  needs.  Conse- 
quently an3dhing  like  adequate  treatment  must  depend  upon 
a careful  classification  and  segregation  of  these  different 
classes.  Great  advance  has  been  made  in  this  direction  by 
the  establishing  in  some  states  of  reform  schools  for  young 
offenders,  industrial  reformatories  for  the  adult  first  offenders, 
inebriate  farms  for  the  victims  of  drugs  and  liquors,  work- 
houses  for  vagrants,  hospital  prisons  for  the  criminal  in- 
sane, state  penitentiaries  for  the  older  or  the  more  hardened 
criminals,  and  special  institutions  for  women  criminals. 

Graded  s'ystem.  — Among  the  best  features  in  prison 
management  to-day  is  the  merit  system,  or  the  grading  of 
prisoners.  According  to  this  grade  system,  a man  on  enter- 
ing is  placed  in  the  second  grade,  and  he  is  advanced  or 
degraded  according  to  his  conduct.  The  first-grade  men, 
as  a reward  for  their  better  behavior,  enjoy  certain  privileges 
in  regard  to  food,  clothing,  receiving  visitors,  writing  letters, 
and  so  forth,  which  are  not  granted  to  those  in  the  lower 
grades.  The  introduction  of  this  system  has  been  a great  j 
aid  in  discipline  in  that  it  has  furnished  incentives  for  good  i 
behavior  to  every  prisoner. 

Parole.  — The  parole  system,  now  adopted  by  many  of 
the  states,  is  an  indication  of  the  new  attitude  of  society 
toward  the  convict.  After  a prisoner  has  served  a part 
of  his  term,  and  has  given  indications  of  being  trustworthy,  , 
he  is  permitted  to  leave  the  prison  on  parole,  remaining  under 
the  surveillance  of  the  prison  authorities.  If  at  any  time 


Crime  and  Punishment 


223 


he  fails  to  report  to  the  parole  officer,  or  should  he  at  any 
time  again  fall  into  criminal  ways,  he  is  returned  to  the 
prison  for  further  punishment.  An  indication  of  the  suc- 
cess of  this  system  is  found  in  the  fact  that  of  some  five 
hundred  federal  prisoners  paroled,  not  more  than  3 or  4 
per  cent  violated  the  terms  of  their  parole.^®  This  system 
furnishes  a great  incentive  for  good  conduct  in  prison,  and 
enables  the  convict  to  get  started  much  earlier  than  was 
formerly  possible  at  some  work  whereby  he  can  earn  his  own 
or  his  familj^’s  li\dng.  Several  of  the  states  and  the  Federal 
government  have  recent!}^  extended  the  parole  law,  making 
it  apply  to  life-termers  after  they  have  served  a given  num- 
ber of  years. 

Indeterminate  sentence."^^  — The  principle  of  the  indeter- 
minate sentence  is  now  applied  to  nearly  all  sentences  to 
reformatories,  and  has  been  extended  recently  by  several 
states  to  prisoners  sentenced  to  the  state  prison.  This  is 
done  on  the  principle  that  in  institutions  which  are  meant 
to  make  the  erring  individual  more  fit  to  take  his  place  in 
society,  the  officials  who  have  the  care  • of  the  individual 
throughout  this  reforming  process  are  best  able  to  judge 
when  the  time  has  come  that  he  is  prepared  to  take  up  again 
his  duties  in  the  outside  world.  The  judge,  in  sentencing 
him,  cannot  tell  just  how  long  this  process  will  take  for  each 
individual;  but  those  who  have  worked  with  him,  and  for 
him,  at  the  reformatory,  are  much  more  competent  to  pre- 
scribe the  termination  of  his  sentence.  This  system  results 
in  a very  great  improvement  in  the  conduct  of  the  men  and 
boys  in  the  institutions,  because  they  know  that  only  good 
behavior  will  bring  about  their  release,  and  that  the  time 
of  this  release  will  be  determined  by  these  very  men  who 
are  their  instructors  and  officials.  The  problem  of  reforma- 
tory or  prison  management  becomes  simplified,  and  the 
number  of  punishments  is  materially  lessened. 

Cumulative  sentence.  — The  principle  of  the  indeterminate 


224 


Social  Problems 


sentence  should  be  supplemented  by  that  of  the  cumulative 
sentence.  That  is,  the  incorrigible,  hardened  criminal,  who 
shows  no  inclination  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  society, 
should  be  sentenced  for  increasing  lengths  of  time  for  suc- 
cessive offenses;  and  if  after  two,  three,  or  four  terms  he 
still  shows  himself  incorrigible,  he  should  be  permanently 
cared  for  within  an  institution. 

ProbaUon.  — Certain  j udges,  strongly  imbued  with  the 
idea  of  making  men  worthy  of  a place  in  society,  are  more 
and  more  using  the  system  of  probation.  That  is,  for  the  first 
offense  or  a slight  crime,  a man  is  not  sentenced  to  prison,  but 
is  put  on  probation  for  a certain  period  under  the  supervision 
of  a probation  officer  to  whom  he  must  make  satisfactory 
reports  from  time  to  time.  He  is  thus  not  cut  off  from  the 
possibility  of  self-support  during  good  behavior.  The  exten- 
sion and  strengthening  of  this  probation  system  will  mean  a 
material  decrease  in  the  number  of  people  in  the  prisons. 

Many  other  reforms  have  taken  place  in  the  methods  of 
dealing  with  criminals.  Instead  of  crushing  out  what  man- 
hood there  is  left*  in  the  offender,  the  aim  now  is  to  preserve 
and  strengthen  it.  To  this  end,  many  prisons  have  abolished 
the  locked  step,  the  clipijed  hair,  and  the  convict  stripes. 
Modern  prisons,  with  due  regard  for  light  and  air,  are  being 
erected  to  take  the  place  of  the  unhealthful,  ill-lighted, 
ill-ventilated,  disease-infected  prisons  of  the  past.  The 
prison  hospitals  are  becoming  modernized,  and  are  using 
the  best  of  medical  science  for  the  care  and  cure  of  the  con- 
vict patients.  In  the  prisons,  schools  are  being  established 
where  elementary  and  high-school  subjects  are  taught,  and 
vocational  and  trade  instruction  is  given.  Books  and 
magazines  are  circulated  among  the  men,  and  in  many  places 
a prison  paper  is  edited  and  printed  by  the  prisoners  them- 
selves. In  fact,  it  has  been,  and  is  being,  recognized  that 
to  develop  and  bring  out  the  manhood  in  a prisoner,  he  must 
be  treated  as  a man. 


Crime  and  Punishment 


225 


Prison  labor.^^  — The  question  of  the  employment  of 
convicts  has  caused  much  discussion  within  the  past  few 
years,  especially  from  the  standpoint  of  the  competition  of 
convict  labor  with  free  labor.  It  is  now  recognized  by  all 
that  the  convict  must  be  regularly  employed  at  some  useful 
work.  Idleness  is  demoralizing  to  any  individual.  It  not 
only  undermines  the  prisoner’s  health  and  increases  the 
tendency  to  insanitj^,  but  it  also  w^eakens  his  whole  moral 
nature,  and  adds  greatly  to  the  problems  of  discipline.  In 
both  New  York  and  Illinois,  when  a large  number  of  prisoners 
were  thrown  out  of  employment  by  restrictive  legislation 
against  comuct  labor,  there  was  a notable  increase  in  sick- 
ness and  in  the  number  of  infractions  of  the  rules,  and  the 
enforced  idleness  proved  demoralizing  generally.  The  young 
prisoner,  in  particular,  needs  to  have  his  hands  busied  and 
his  mind  occupied.  He  needs  above  all  to  form  habits  of 
industry  and  application  which  will  stand  him  in  good 
stead  on  his  return  to  society. 

From  the  standpoint  of  society,  there  is  no  reason  why 
one  who  has  committed  an  offense  against  society  should 
be  taken  from  the  ranks  of  producers  and  be  supported  by 
what  others  have  produced.  His  labor  should  be  utilized 
to  the  fullest  extent  consistent  with  the  principles  of  ref- 
ormation, both  for  his  owm  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  society. 
His  labor  has  a value,  and  the  burden  of  taxation  for  his 
support  is  decreased  in  so  far  as  this  labor  is  utilized.  Further- 
more, many  of  the  prisoners  have  dependent  families,  and 
some  of  the  states  have  now  made  provision  that  a portion  of 
the  prisoner’s  earnings  shall  go  to  those  dependent  upon  him. 

The  extent  of  the  competition  of  prison-made  goods  with 
those  of  outside  labor  has  undoubtedly  been  greatly  ex- 
aggerated, the  total  product  of  all  penal  institutions  being 
less  than  one  two-hundredth  of  the  value  of  the  products 
of  all  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country.  (In  1905 
this  was  one  two-hundred-thirtieth) 

Q 


226 


Social  Problems 


When  several  prisons  employ  a large  number  of  convicts 
in  a particular  industry,  the  competition  with  outside  free 
labor  in  the  same  industry  may  be  considerable.  It  is  well, 
therefore,  that  the  prisoners  should  be  employed  at  such 
labor  as  will  interfere  just  as  little  as  possible  mth  free  labor. 

In  the  early  days,  when  it  first  began  to  be  recognized 
that  - prisoners  should  be  employed  at  some  kind  of  labor, 
they  were  frequently  employed  at  such  unprofitable  tasks 
as  running  a treadmill,  twisting  and  untwisting  ropes,  or 
turning  a crank.^^  This  system  has  long  since  been  dis- 
continued throughout  this  country. 

Lease  system.  — Under  this  system,  the  convicts  are  leased 
outright  to  contractors,  who  assume  full  responsibility  for 
feeding,  clothing,  and  housing  them,  as  well  as  the  responsi- 
bility for  guarding  and  disciplining  them.  Naturally  the 
contractor  is  not  interested  in  the  reform  of  the  prisoners, 
his  sole  aim  being  to  expend  as  little  as  possible  upon  their 
care,  and  to  get  as  much  as  possible  from  their  labor.  Leased 
convicts  were  herded  together,  often  in  chain  gangs,  under 
conditions  of  virtual  slavery.  Such  a system,  although 
highly  profitable  to  the  state  and  to  the  contractor,  is  most 
degrading  and  demoralizing  to  the  prisoner.  Fortunately  it 
has  been  given  up  in  all  except  two  of  the  Southern  states. 

Contract  system.  — This  varies  from  the  lease  system  in 
that,  under  this  plan,  the  state  keeps  full  control  of  the  pris- 
oner both  as  to  care  and  discipline,  merely  selling  his  labor 
at  a certain  amount  per  prisoner  to  the  contractor  who  sup- 
plies such  machinery  as  is  needed  and  whatever  raw  material 
is  used.  This  is  a simple  way  of  disposing  of  his  labor.  Its 
disadvantages  are  : the  bringing  in  of  outside  parties  who  are 
more  concerned  over  the  profits  than  they  are  over  the  wel- 
fare of  the  prisoner ; one  or  two  industries  only  are  ordinarily 
pursued,  and  they  are  not  such  as  would  fit  him  for  any  trade 
after  his  release ; contracts  being  mainly  centered  in  a few 
industries,  labor  competition  is  much  keener,  and  labor 


Crime  and  Punishment 


227 


unions  have  strongly  resented  this  form  of  prison  labor. 
The  contract  system,  along  with  the  lease  system,  is  gradually 
dying  out. 

The  piece-price  system.  — This  is  simply  a modification  of 
the  contract  system.  Its  principal  advantage  over  the  con- 
tract system  is  that  the  contractor  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  convicts.  He  merely  supplies  the  materials  for  manu- 
facture, and  pays  a fixed  amount  per  piece  for  the  completed 
work. 

The  public  account  system.  — Under  this  system  the  state 
has  full  control  of  the  prisoners,  full  management  of  the  in- 
dustry, and  receives  all  the  profits.  The  principal  disadvan- 
tages are  that  it  requires  the  investment  of  a large  amount 
of  capital  in  machinery  and  raw  materials ; it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  find  a man  who  is  a skilled  penologist  and  at  the 
same  time  a practical  manufacturer;  and  competition  with 
outside  industry,  which  comes  thrpugh  throwing  these  prod- 
ucts on  the  open  market,  is  quite  as  serious  as  in  any  of  the 
other  systems. 

The  state-use  system.  — This  is  a modification  of  the  public 
account  system.  It  seeks  to  prevent  direct  competition  be- 
tween prison-made  goods  and  those  made  by  free  labor,  by 
manufacturing  only  such  goods  as  may  be  used  in  the  several 
state  institutions.  In  this  way,  the  goods  are  not  thrown 
on  the  open  market,  and  so  do  not  enter  so  directly  into 
competition  with  goods  made  outside  the  prison.  Several 
states  have  successfully  used  this  system  in  the  manu- 
facture of  certain  trust-made  articles,  and  have  thus 
materially  lowered  the  price  of  these  commodities.  The 
disadvantages  of  the  system  are  that  it  requires  such  a vast 
amount  of  capital  to  make  such  a variety  of  products  as  would 
be  needed  in  the  various  institutions,  and  that  it  is  not  prob- 
able that  any  state  could  advantageously  use  products  re- 
quiring the  labor  of  all  its  prisoners. 

The  public  works  system.'^^  — At  the  present  time  the  tend- 


228 


Social  Problems 


ency  is  very  decidedly  away  from  these  older  systems  of 
prison  labor,  and  toward  the  employment  of  prisoners  in  such 
ways  as  will  interfere  to  the  least  possible  extent  with  out- 
side labor.  Among  the  newer  forms  of  labor  are  the  em- 
ployment on  public  works,  on  road  work,  on  farms,  and  in 
forestry.  Such  employment  has  been  greatly  facilitated 
through  the  introduction  of  the  honor  system.^®  This  has 
spread  rapidly,  until  now  a number  of  the  states  permit 
gangs  of  from  five  to  fifty  men  to  work  outside  the  walls, 
often  at  quite  a distance  from  the  prison,  under  a convict 
foreman,  and  with  no  armed  guards.  In  some  states  the 
work  on  several  of  the  new  prisons,  as  well  as  on  other  public 
buildings,  has  been  largely  done  by  convicts.  Recently  at 
the  time  of  the  floods  in  April,  a large  number  of  the  Missis- 
sippi convicts  worked  on  the  levees.  Road-making  by  con- 
victs is  now  being  tried  in  a number  of  states  with  apparently 
most  satisfactory  results.  The  work  being  out  of  doors,  is 
healthful ; little  trouble  is  experienced  in  discipline ; the  labor 
competes  to  the  slightest  degree  with  free  labor  ; and  this  is 
proving  a most  effective  way  of  getting  good  roads  through- 
out the  country. 

Arkansas  has  recently  purchased  a prison  farm  of  some 
eight  thousand  acres  on  which  it  proposes  to  employ  its  con- 
victs, giving  up  its  contract  and  lease  systems.  North  Car- 
olina has  a similar  farm  of  seven  thousand  acres.  Illinois  has 
just  made  provision  for  employing  three  hundred  of  its  con- 
victs on  a farm.  A number  of  the  other  states  are  acquiring  s 
more  land  on  which  they  are  planning  to  use  their  convicts.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  food  supply  is  raised  on  these  farms, 
and  they  afford  a most  desirable  occupation  for  the  prisoners. 

In  New  York  a force  of  convicts  was  employed  in  clearing 
up  a large  area  of  forest  land  and  in  replanting  large  areas. 
Th^  work  is  said  not  only  to  have  proved  useful  for  the  men, 
but  also  to  have  demonstrated  the  possibility  of  profitably 
employing  large  numbers  of  convicts  in  the  conservation  of 


Crime  and  Punishment 


229 


our  forest  regions.  These  newer  methods  afford  employment 
for  the  convict  under  conditions  most  favorable  for  his  physi- 
cal and  moral  development,  and,  employed  in  these  ways,  his 
labor  comes  into  the  least  possible  competition  with  outside 
labor. 

The  juvenile  ofifender.^^  — Most  fundamental  of  all  the 
problems  with  which  the  courts  are  called  upon  to  deal,  is 
the  problem  of  the  juvenile  offender.  Boy  and  girl  delin- 
quents, if  left  to  themselves,  fall  naturally  into  the  careers 
v/hich  open  to  them  through  petty  first  offenses.  Until 
recently,  if  they  were  convicted  for  these  offenses  and  sen- 
tenced to  prisons  and  reformatories,  they  were  cast  into  cells 
with  adult  prisoners  of  the  worst  type.  Thus,  on  their 
release,  they  returned  to  their  old  haunts,  hardened  and 
schooled  in  crime  by  their  experiences  in  these  institutions,  a 
much  greater  menace  to  society  than  before  their  conviction. 
The  agency  which  is  gradually  bringing  about  reform  in  the 
treatment  of  the  juvenile  offender  in  this  country,  is  the 
Juvenile  Court. 

This  Juvenile  Court  is  distinctly  an  American  institution, 
and  was  first  started  in  Chicago  in  1899.  There  presides  over 
it  a judge  who  gives  his  whole  time  and  attention  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  to  the  children  who  are  brought  before 
him  for  the  violation  of  one  or  another  of  the  laws.  In  the 
children’s  court,  the  administration  of  justice  does  not  mean 
merely  the  doling  out  of  punishments.  It  means  that  the 
judge  uses  the  methods  that  seem  best  suited  to  the  helping  of 
each  boy  and  girl  who  comes  before  him.  First,  with  the  aid 
of  his  assistants,  he  finds  out  all  that  he  can  about  the  child’s 
previous  life ; what  kind  of  a father  and  mother  he  has ; 
whether  they  quarrel,  or  drink,  or  are  cruel  to  the  children ; 
whether  they  are  very  poor,  or  incompetent ; who  have  been 
the  boy’s  associates ; what  the  immediate  circumstances  which 
led  to  the  arrest  were ; and  many  more  details  which  may  be 
essential  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  in  hand.  The  con- 


230 


Social  Problems 


fidence  of  the  child  is  sought,  and  his  version  of  the  event 
is  gained  if  possible.  Then,  with  as  deep  an  insight  as  he  can 
get  into  the  details  of  the  case,  the  judge  acts. 

His  aim  is  to  prescribe  something  for  each  particular  child 
which  will  help  to  make  him  a responsible  unit  of  society. 
In  other  words,  it  is  the  reformation,  not  the  punishment,  of 
the  child  that  the  judge  seeks.  To  accomplish  this,  varying 
methods  are  used.  If  the  home  is  fairly  well  fitted  to  rear 
the  child,  and  the  parents  are  anxious  to  do  their  part,  the  boy 
or  girl  is  usually  sent  home  on  probation  for  a certain  length 
of  time.  Probation  officers  follow  up  and  keep  track  of  all 
such  cases.  The  probation  officer  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant factors  in  this  whole  system,  for  it  is  on  his  tact,  insight, 
and  ability  that  the  success,  to  the  child,  of  this  period  of 
probation  rests.  If  a probation  officer  does  his  duty,  he 
becomes  not  only  a representative  of  the  law  which  enforces 
good  behavior  on  the  young  delinquent,  but  also  the  per- 
sonal friend  of  the  child,  and  in  this  lies  his  greatest  influence. 
When  home  surroundings  and  influences  are  not  what  they 
should  be,  the  judge  prescribes  for  the  child  a certain  length 
of  time  to  be  spent  in  a home,  a training  school,  or  a reform- 
atory. Under  the  supervision  of  the  juvenile  courts,  these 
homes  are  raising  their  standards,  and  they,  in  turn,  are 
directing  their  efforts  toward  the  education  of  the  child,  and 
his  training  in  some  line  of  work,  both  of  which  may  better 
fit  him  for  good  citizenship. 

One  other  phase  of  the  work  of  these  courts  must  be 
mentioned,  and  that  is  their  fundamental  work  in  the  pre- 
vention of  crime.  In  their  investigations.  Juvenile  Court 
officers  often  unearth  causal  conditions  which  are  lament- 
able in  the  present  stage  of  our  civilization.  Where  the 
Juvenile  Court  is  strong,  it  is  one  of  the  biggest  factors  in 
bringing  such  conditions  before  the  public,  and  in  securing 
constructive  social  legislation.  Juvenile  delinquency  is  so 
often  the  result  of  environment  that  the  number  of  cases 


Crime  and  Punishment 


231 


in  court  is  said  to  serve  as  a reliable  barometer  of  social  con- 
ditions in  the  surrounding  territory. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Define  crime.  Explain  your  definition.  Distinguish  be- 
tween crime  and  vice. 

2.  How  may  crimes  be  classified? 

3.  What  data  have  we  regarding  the  extent  of  crime? 

4.  What  is  said  regarding  the  increase  or  decrease  of  crime  ? 

5.  What  important  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  forms  of 
crime  ? 

6.  What  are  the  principal  individual  causes  of  crime?  Tell 
about  each. 

7.  What  are  the  principal  social  causes  of  crime?  Tell  about 
each. 

8.  What  four  stages  are  discernible  in  society’s  attitude  toward 
crime  and  criminals?  Describe  each. 

9.  Tell  about  the  classification  of  prisoners. 

10.  Discuss  the  graded  system.  The  parole  system.  The 
indeterminate  sentence.  The  cumulative  sentence.  Probation. 

11.  What  are  some  of  the  other  general  reforms  in  the  treatment 
of  criminals? 

12.  Discuss  the  various  systems  of  prison  labor : the  lease  sys- 
tem; the  contract  system;  the  piece-price  system;  the  public 
account  system ; the  state-use  system ; the  public  works  system. 

13.  What  is  said  about  the  juvenile  offender? 

14.  Give  an  account  of  the  juvenile  court. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Carver,  Sociology  and  Social  Progress,  p.  662. 

2.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  p.  371. 

3.  Wines,  Punishment  and  Reformation,  p.  12. 

4.  Mercier,  Crime  and  Insanity,  Ch.  VIII. 

5.  Census  Bulletin  No.  121,  1910,  Prisoners  and  Juvenile 
Delinquents. 

6.  Advance,  July  16,  1914. 

7.  Webb-MulhaU,  Dictionary  of  Statistics,  p.  172;  Bliss,  Ency^ 
clopedia  of  Social  Reform,  “Crime.” 

8.  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  “Criminology.” 

9.  Lecky,  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  p.  522  et  seq. 


232 


Social  Problems 


10.  Wines,  p.  15. 

11.  Carver,  p.  658. 

12.  Ross,  Sin  and  Society,  p.  7. 

13.  Ross,  p.  15. 

14.  Ross,  p.  29. 

15.  La  FoUette’s  Magazine,  Aug.  29,  1914. 

16.  International  Year  Book,  1913,  “Penology.” 

17.  American  Issue,  July,  1914. 

18.  Wines,  p.  25. 

19.  Wines,  p.  122. 

20.  American  Year  Booh,  1914. 

21.  Henderson,  Prison  Association  Report,  1908,  p.  135. 

22.  Henderson,  Penal  and  Reformatory  Institutions,  p.  193. 

23.  Wright,  p.  379. 

24.  Wright,  p.  381. 

25.  Johnson,  American  Year  Book,  1913,  p.  450. 

26.  Charities  and  Corrections,  1912,  p.  195. 

27.  Preventive  Treatment  of  Neglected  Children,  Part  VI:  “The 
Juvenile  Court,”  pp.  251-357. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Wines,  Punishment  and  Reformation. 

Ellwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  Ch.  XIV. 
Blackmar  and  Gillin,  Outlines  of  Sociology,  Book  V,  Ch.  IV. 
Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Chs.  XXI,  XXII. 

Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents,  Part  IV. 
Osborne,  Within  Prison  Walls.  A remarkable  revelation  of  existing 
prison  conditions. 

The  four  volumes  on  “Correction  and  Prevention,”  edited  by 
Henderson : I.  Prison  Reform  and  Criminal  Law  in  the  United 
States,  II.  Penal  and  Reformatory  Institutions,  III.  Preven- 
tive Agencies  and  Methods,  IV.  Preventive  Treatment  of  Neg- 
lected Children. 

Mercier,  Crime  and  Insanity. 

Smith,  Social  Pathology,  pp.  131-97. 

Dealey,  Sociology,  Ch.  XVI. 

Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  Ch.  XV. 

Bowen,  Safeguards  for  City  Youth  at  Work  and  at  Play,  Ch.  IV. 

Life  in  Sing  Sing,  by  Number  1500. 

Brockway,  Fifty  Years  of  Prison  Service. 

Folks,  The  Care  of  Destitute,  Neglected,  and  Delinquent  Children. 


Crime  and  Punishment 


233 


Macdonald,  Criminology. 

Ferri,  Criminal  Sociology, 

Censms  Bulletin  No.  121,  1910,  “Prisoners  and  Juvenile  Delin- 
quents.” 

Parmelee,  The  Principles  of  Anthropology  and  Sociology  in  their 
Relations  to  Criminal  Procedure. 

Flexner  and  Baldwin,  Juvenile  Courts  and  Probation. 

George,  The  Junior  Republic. 

Barrows,  The  Reformatory  System  in  the  United  States. 

Puffer,  The  Boy  and  his  Gang. 

Booth,  After  Prison  — What  f 

Annual  Reports,  National  Prison  Association. 


CHAPTER  XII 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE 

I.  The  family,  the  fundamental  unit  of  society. 

1.  Economic. 

2.  Religious. 

3.  Educational. 

4.  Social. 

5.  Biological. 

II.  The  origin  of  the  family. 

III.  Types  of  family. 

1.  Polyandrous. 

2.  Polygynous. 

3.  Monogamous. 

IV.  The  change  in  relation  between  husband  and  wife. 

V.  Marriage  conditions  in  the  United  States. 

1.  Marriage  rate. 

2.  Marriage  age. 

3.  Effect  of  economic  conditions  on  marriage. 

4.  Marriage  laws. 

5.  Proposed  reforms. 

VI.  Divorce  in  the  United  States. 

1.  Extent. 

^ 2.  Party  to  whom  granted. 

3.  Duration  of  married  life. 

4.  Remarriage. 

5.  Migration  and  divorce. 

6.  Distribution. 

7.  Comparison  with  other  countries. 

VII.  Legal  grounds  for  divorce. 

VIII.  Causes  for  increase  of  divorce. 

1.  Economic  interdependence  of  husband  and  wife  les- 

sened. 

2.  The  changing  status  of  women. 

3.  Lack  of  preparation  for  home  duties. 

4.  Higher  standards  of  life. 

5.  The  weakening  of  tradition. 

234 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


23S 


IX.  Proposed  remedies. 

1.  Legal  reforms. 

2.  Training  for  home-making. 

3.  Social  legislation. 

X.  Conclusion. 

The  family,  the  fundamental  unit  in  society.  — The  family 
is  by  far  the  most  important  social  institution  of  to-day. 
It  is  the  fundamental  unit  of  society,  as  well  as  the  unit  at  the 
basis  of  all  social  development.  The  fanjily  was  the  first 
economic  unit,  that  is,  the  economic  life  of  all  peoples  first 
centered  about  the  household.  Within  the  family  was  found 
the  first  division  of  labor,  — the  first  cooperation  between 
individuals.  The  female  members  of  the  family  cared  for 
the  younger  members,  preparing  the  food  supply,  and  tend- 
ing to  the  household  wants ; while  the  male  members  were 
busied  with  the  chase,  securing  food  through  hunting  and 
fishing,  or  with  the  defense  of  the  family  against  the  attacks 
of  enemies.  As  we  pass  from  the  primitive  to  the  more  ad- 
vanced economic  stages,  we  find  the  family  unit  playing  a 
still  more  important  part  in  the  life  of  the  people.  In  the 
early  life  of  our  own  people,  the  household  was  the  economic 
unit,  the  center  of  economic  activities.  The  home  was 
built,  the  forest  cleared,  the  ground  tilled,  the  flocks  and 
herds  cared  for,  the  clothing  made,  and  the  food  provided, 
all  within  the  family,  and  through  the  closest  cooperation 
of  its  individual  members. 

The  family  has  been  also  the  center  of  the  religious,  educa- 
tional, and  social  influences.  In  early  biblical  times  all  re- 
hgious  activities  gathered  about  the  patriarchal  family. 
Graham  Taylor  says  that  the  family  is  the  “ birthplace  of 
religion  ’’  and  that  “ it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  con- 
ceive of  religion  apart  from  the  family.”  He  speaks  of  the 
Holy  Family  as  the  ‘‘  great  seal  of  Christianity,”  and  says 
that  “ it  is  less  difficult  to  think  of  reconstituting  the  human 
race,  and  the  relations  which  make  the  race  human,  if  it  had 


236 


Social  Problems 


to  begin  over  again,  without  the  Church  rather  than  without 
the  home.  Indeed,  religion  could  be  more  readily  reproduced 
from  the  family,  if  the  Church  were  lost,  than  it  could  be 
maintained  by  the  Church  if  the  family  were  lost.”  ^ 

It  is  through  the  family  that  educational  influences  are 
first  brought  to  bear  upon  the  child.  His  education  is  begun 
within  the  home.  The  use  of  language,  the  medium  of  ex- 
pression and  the  foundation  for  other  learning,  is  gained 
there.  The  home  is  the  center  of  cultural  influences,  and  de- 
termines in  a large  measure  the  extent  and  direction  of  the 
child’s  education. 

It  is  within  the  family  that  the  greatest  influences  are 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  child,  — influences  which  prepare 
him  for  his  place  in  society.  Here  the  child  learns  self- 
restraint,  and  learns  that  his  will  must  sometimes  be  made 
to  conform  to  the  will  of  others.  In  finding  his  place  in  the 
family,  he  unconsciously  becomes  the  better  fitted  to  take  his 
place  in  the  larger  social  units. 

From  a biological  standpoint,  the  family  is  the  primary 
unit  of  the  social  organism.  The  reproduction  of  life,  and 
thus  the  perpetuation  of  the  race,  comes  through  the  family, 
and  it  is  within  the  family  that,  through  the  prolongation  of 
infancy  and  the  care  of  the  weaker  and  the  more  helpless, 
there  has  been  developed  that  feeling  of  sympathy  or  altru- 
ism which  has  played  so  important  a part  in  our  social  growth. 

The  origin  of  the  family.  — Although  marriage,  as  we  know 
it,  is  a distinctly  human  institution,  nearly  all  of  the  higher 
forms  of  animal  life  have  very  distinct  family  relationships. 
Among  nearly  all  kinds  of  birds  we  find  the  male  and  female 
helping  each  other  in  the  building  of  the  nest  and  in  caring 
for  the  young,  and  such  birds,  when  once  paired,  remain 
so  until  the  death  of  one  or  the  other  of  them.^  Among 
many  of  the  higher  forms  of  mammals,  family  life  is  fairly 
well  developed,  the  male  remaining  with  and  assisting  the 
femab  in  the  care  of  the  young.  This  is  particularly  true 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


237 


among  the  various  forms  of  manlike  apes.  As  we  pass  from 
the  highest  forms  of  animal  life  to  the  savage  races  of  men, 
we  find  the  family  as  a universal  institution.  Westermarck 
says  that  “ the  tie  that  kept  together  husband  and  wife, 
parents  and  children,  was,  if  not  the  only,  at  least  the  prin- 
cipal social  factor  in  the  earliest  life  of  man,’’  and  that  “ in 
all  probability  there  has  been  no  stage  of  human  development 
where  marriage  has  not  existed.”  ^ 

Types  of  family.  — Although  the  family  has  existed  from 
earhest  times,  different  forms  have  prevailed  at  different 
times  and  among  various  peoples.  The  principal  types 
have  been  the  polyandrous,  polygynous,  and  the  monog- 
amous. 

The  'polyandrous,  in  which  we  have  the  one  wife  with  sev- 
eral husbands,  is  “ a relatively  rare  form  of  marriage  and  the 
family,  found  only  in  certain  isolated  regions  of  the  world  ” 
and  under  conditions  where  it  is  conceivably  difficult  for 
one  man  to  support  and  protect  the  family.”  ^ 

The  polygynous,  in  which  we  have  the  one  husband  with 
several  wives,  has  been  found  much  more  frequently  from 
early  times  down  to  the  present,  and  among  various  peoples. 
The  capture  of  women  in  war  and  holding  them  as  slaves, 
or  wives,  was  an  important  phase  of  the  growth  of  polygyny.® 
This  type  of  family  life  is  inconsistent  with  the  more  ad- 
vanced civilization,  because  of  the  subordinate  position  of 
woman  in  the  household,  and  in  that  it  does  not  afford  an 
opportunity  for  the  high*est  development  of  the  child. 

The  monogamous  family,®  in  which  we  have  the  one 
husband  and  the  one  wife,  is  found  among  all  the  more  ad- 
vanced peoples  of  the  world,  and  is  the  type  which  more 
nearly  conforms  with  our  highest  ethical  and  social  ideals. 
This  type  is  more  in  accord  with  biological  conditions,  in  that 
the  numbers  of  the  two  sexes  are  approximately  equal.  Chil- 
dren are  much  better  cared  for,  because  in  this  type  of  family 
we  have  husband  and  wife  united  in  the  care  and  in  the  train- 


238 


Social  Problems 


ing  of  the  children.  The  family  relationships  are  thus  much 
stronger ; the  higher  types  of  affection  and  emotion  are  de- 
veloped, as  well  as  the  higher  types  of  religion  and  morals. 
Because  of  the  strengthening  of  these  ties,  we  find  the  chil- 
dren in  such  families  having  a greater  care  for  their  parents 
in  their  old  age.  Thus  we  find  that  while  the  family  is  found 
in  all  stages  of  civilization,  there  has  been  a gradual  evolution 
of  the  monogamous  family  until  that  is  the  characteristic 
type  of  all  the  most  civilized  peoples.  It  is  the  type  most 
consistent  with  biological  laws,  and  the  type  within  which  are 
developed  those  cultural  and  social  attributes  which  best  fit 
the  individual  to  take  his  place  in  society. 

Change  in  relation  between  husband  and  wife.  — Along 
with  the  evolution  of  this  higher  form  of  family  life,  there  has 
taken  place  a marked  change  in  woman’s  relative  position  in 
the  family.  Among  many  of  the  early  peoples,  the  position 
of  the  wife  was  practically  that  of  a slave.  The  man  was 
considered  as  having  a property  right  in  a wife,  and  thus  had 
complete  control  over  her.  He  could  drive  her  away  from 
his  home  if  he  felt  so  inclined,  and  could  even  kill  her  if  she 
displeased  him.  As  civilization  advanced,  woman’s  position 
was  gradually  improved.  Man  could  no  longer  repudiate 
her  except  for  the  most  serious  offenses,  and  eventually  cer- 
tain rights  were  conceded  to  the  woman.  Gradually  she 
came  to  a position  of  equality,  and  the  position  of  woman  in 
the  home  can  be  taken  as  a fair  criterion  of  the  advance  of 
any  nation  to-day. 

Marriage  conditions  in  the  United  States.  — Early  in  the 
eighties,  the  increasing  number  of  divorces  in  this  country 
led  a number  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  to  petition  Con- 
gress to  make  provision  for  the  collection  of  statistics  on  mar- 
riage and  divorce.  This  resulted  in  the  first  exhaustive 
study  of  this  question  in  the  United  States  that  had  ever 
been  made,  and  covered  the  twenty-year  period  from  1867 
to  1886.  At  the  end  of  the  next  twenty-year  period,  in  1906, 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


239 


a similar  study  was  made.  The  importance  of  gathering 
data  on  this  subject  was  first  recognized  by  the  Federal 
Census  Bureau  in  1890,  and  each  census  since  that  time  has 
collected  data  on  marital  conditions  throughout  the  country. 

Of  the  information  thus  collected,  that  pertaining  to  mar- 
riage is  more  gratifying  to  those  interested  in  the  social  wel- 
fare of  our  country,  than  that  pertaining  to  divorce.  Per- 
haps the  most  gratifying  items  of  information  collected,  as 
indicating  wholesome  marriage  conditions,  were  in  regard  to 
the  marriage  rate  and  the  marriage  age. 

Marriage  rate.  — It  was  shown  that,  contrary  to  the  cur- 
rent opinion,  the  marriage  rate  has  tended  to  increase  slightly, 
rather  than  to  decrease;  that  is,  the  proportion  of  single 
men  and  women  has  been  gradually  decreasing,  and  the 
proportion  of  married  gradually  increasing.  A little  more 
than  two  fifths  of  our  total  population,  or  nearly  three  fifths 
of  the  population  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over,  are  married. 
This  proportion  is  higher  than  in  most  of  the  European 
countries.^ 

Marriage  age.  — It  was  also  shown  that  there  was  not  the 
tendency  to  defer  marriage  that  many  had  supposed  to  be 
characteristic  of  these  later  years.  On  the  contrary,  the 
census  for  each  successive  decade  since  1890  has  shown  a 
slightly  increasing  proportion  of  those  married  within  the 
earlier  age  groups.^  While  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that,  be- 
cause of  the  higher  standards  of  living,  there  is  an  increasing 
tendency  among  the  professional  classes  to  marry  at  later 
ages,  yet  throughout  the  country  as  a whole,  and  also  in  each 
particular  section,  there  is  shown  to  be  a tendency  among  all 
the  people  toward  an  increasing  proportion  of  marriages,  as 
well  as  toward  marriage  at  an  earlier  age. 

Effect  of  economic  conditions  on  marriage.  — The  marriage 
rate  of  any  country  has  been  shown  to  be  very  directly  af- 
fected by  war,  and  also  by  economic  conditions.  At  the  time 
of  our  Civil  War,  the  marriage  rate  fell  off  materially,  owing 


240 


Social  Problems 


to  the  large  number  of  young  men  who  were  in  the  army,  and 
to  the  unsettled  condition  of  business  at  that  time.  Also, 
statistics  collected  in  our  own,  as  well  as  in  other  countries, 
have  shown  that  there  is  always  a very  close  relation  between 
economic  conditions  and  the  number  of  marriages.  During 
periods  of  hard  times,  when  the  costs  of  provisions  are  high 
and  it  is  difficult  to  make  a living,  there  is  a lessening  in 
the  number  of  marriages.  When  conditions  become  more 
favorable,  when  the  outlook  for  economic  prosperity  is 
brighter,  more  are  willing  to  assume  the  responsibility  of 
marriage.^ 

Marriage  laws.  — The  marriage  ceremony  has  varied 
greatly  among  different  peoples,  and  from  time  to  time. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  looks  upon  marriage  as  one  of 
the  sacraments.  Although  the  Protestant  churches  have  not 
accepted  the  sacramental  idea  of  marriage,  they  have  looked 
upon  it  as  one  of  the  most  deeply  religious  of  all  their  cere- 
monies. In  several  of  the  European  states,  the  parties  are 
permitted  to  choose  between  civil  and  religious  marriage. 
More  of  the  states,  however,  make  the  civil  marriage  obliga- 
tory, but  the  parties  are  permitted  to  have  a religious  cere- 
mony also,  if  they  so  desire.  Because  of  the  great  social 
significance  of  marriage,  the  different  states  in  our  country 
felt  justified  in  attempting  to  regulate  it  through  legislation. 
This  matter  having  been  left  to  the  states,  we  have  about  as 
many  different  marriage  codes  as  there  are  states  in  the 
Union.  All  of  the  states  require  some  form  of  license,  or  cer- 
tificate, secured  through  the  proper  public  officials,  and  re- 
quire that  the  ceremony  be  solemnized  either  by  a minister 
of  religion,  or  by  a magistrate  authorized  by  law  to  perform 
the  ceremony.  A number  of  the  states  have  laws  forbidding 
the  marriage  of  the  insane,  epileptic,  and  feeble-minded; 
defining  the  degree  of  relationship  within  which  marriage 
is  forbidden,  some  forbidding  the  marriage  of  first  cousins ; 
and  specifying  the  age  at  which  a valid  marriage  can  be  con- 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


241 


tracted,  and  the  age  below  which  parental  consent  is  required. 
In  most  states  this  age  is  twenty-one  years  for  the  man  and 
eighteen  for  the  woman.  Several  Southern  states  prohibit  the 
marriage  of  white  persons  with  negroes,  and  certain  Western 
states  prohibit  the  marriage  of  whites  with  Indians  or  Chinese. 
The  great  diversity  in  state  legislation  has  given  rise  to  end- 
less confusion  in  the  marriage  laws,  and  has  led  to  an  insistent 
demand  for  uniform  marriage  laws  throughout  the  country. 

Proposed  reforms.  — ■ One  of  the  greatest  needs  recognized 
to-day  is  for  uniform  marriage  laws  in  all  the  states.  Some 
states  have  been  notably  lax,  not  only  in  the  laws  regarding 
marriage,  but  also  in  their  enforcement  of  these  laws.  This 
laxity  has  often  led  to  people  going  to  other  states  than  their 
own  to  have  the  ceremony  performed,  when  they  would  not 
have  been  permitted  to  marry  within  their  own  state. 

The  registration  of  marriages  is  another  recognized  need 
throughout  the  country.  On  so  vital  a social  question  as 
this,  it  is  desirable  that  we  should  have  the  most  complete 
and  accurate  data  possible,  yet  at  the  time  of  the  last  special 
report  on  marriage  and  divorce  only  about  one  half  of  the 
states  had  made  provision  for  the  state  registration  of  mar- 
riages. In  a large  number  of  these,  the  registration  was  re- 
ported as  more  or  less  unsatisfactory,  several  of  them  making 
no  attempt  to  enforce  the  provision.®  The  items  collected 
are  not  identical  in  the  different  states,  and  are  often  compiled 
so  carelessly  as  to  be  of  little  value.  This  is  a question  on 
which  full  and  accurate  information  is  most  essential  as  a 
basis  for  social  action,  and  the  means  are  at  hand  whereby 
such  information  could  be  collected  at  comparatively  little 
cost.  At  the  time  the  license  is  secured,  information  could 
and  should  be  recorded  regarding  the  age,  parentage,  birth- 
place, nationality,  race,  and  occupation  of  the  contracting 
parties,  and  regarding  any  previous  divorce  of  either  of  the 
parties.^® 

The  laxity  of  the  marriage  laws  is  undoubtedly  a factor  in  ' 

K 


242 


Social  Problems 


the  increasing  number  of  divorces.  Where  it  is  a simple 
matter  to  secure  a license  and  to  find  some  one  to  perform 
the  ceremony,  many  are  apt  to  rush  into  marriage  without 
giving  due  consideration  to  the  consequences.  This  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  practically  one  eighth  of  all  separations  lead- 
ing to  divorce  come  within  a period  of  less  than  one  year  after 
martiage.i^  The  ignorant,  as  well  as  the  heedless  and 
thoughtless,  should  be  restrained  through  strict  requirements 
in  the  securing  of  the  license,  the. requiring  of  a previous 
given  term  of  residence  within  the  district  in  which  the  license 
is  secured,  and  the  provision  that  a given  period  of  time 
must  elapse  after  the  securing  of  a license  before  the  cere- 
mony can  be  performed.^^  Such  laws  are  justifiable  because 
marriage  is  a matter  of  public  concern  as  well  as  of  private 
welfare. 

Eugenic  marriage  laws  have  recently  been  passed  by  several 
states,  notably  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  and  Wisconsin.^^ 
These  laws  are  the  direct  result  of  the  awakening  of  popular  | 
interest  in  the  subjects  of  heredity  and  race  preservation.  ‘ 

Recent  studies,  such  as  those  of  the  Jukes  and  the  Kallikak  | 

families,  have  shown  the  enormous  cost  to  society  of  a race 
of  degenerates.  The  increasing  numbers  of  feeble-minded 
and  insane  persons  have  emphasized  the  need  of  social  re- 
striction on  hereditary  influences.  The  terrible  cost  to  so- 
ciety of  the  transmission  of  social  diseases  has  led  several 
states  to  pass  laws  requiring  a physician’s  certificate  that  the 
contracting  parties  were  free  from  such  taints  before  a mar- 
riage license  would  be  granted.  It  is  hoped  that  such  laws 
will  not  only  lessen  the  number  of  those  tainted  with  feeble- 
mindedness and  disease,  but  that  they  will  also  arouse  society 
to  more  persistent  efforts  for  the  eradication  of  transmissible 
diseases.  The  importance  of  heredity  in  the  improvement  of 
plant  and  animal  life  has  long  been  recognized  by  society. 
Now  that  we  are  beginning  to  have  a clear  understanding  of 
social  conditions  and  social  forces,  it  is  hoped  that  through 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


243 


wise  legislation  we  may  at  least  lessen  the  serious  social  con- 
sequences of  uncontrolled  hereditary  influences. 

Divorce  in  the  United  States.  — Extent.  — When  we  come 
to  consider  the  facts  regarding  divorce,  the  statistics  give  us 
greater  cause  for  apprehension.  We  are  confronted  with  the 
fact  that  divorce  is  increasing  in  the  United  States  three  times 
as  fast  as  the  population,  and  that  approximately  one  out  of 
every  twelve  marriages  ends  in  divorce.^^  The  menace  of 
such  a condition  as  this  to  the  most  important  of  all  social 
institutions,  the  family,  can  hardly  be  estimated.  Within 
the  twenty-year  period,  1887  to  1906,  nearly  one  million 
divorces  were  granted.  In  40  per  cent  of  these  cases,  children 
were  reported.  This  means  not  only  the  breaking  up  of 
nearly  a million  homes,  but  also  the  lack  of  home  influences 
for  the  vast  number  of  children  involved. 

Party  to  whom  granted.  — Almost  two  thirds  of  the  total 
number  of  divorces  were  granted  to  the  wives,  and  in  less 
than  one  tenth  of  the  total  number  of  cases  was  any 
alimony  allowed.  The  fact  that  the  number  of  divorces 
obtained  by  wives  was  twice  as  great  as  the  number  obtained 
by  husbands  does  not  help  in  locating  the  responsibility  for 
marital  unhappiness.  Although  no  distinction  between  the 
parties  is  made  by  law  in  respect  to  the  grounds  on  which  a 
divorce  may  be  secured,  two  or  three  of  the  more  common 
charges,  such  as  neglect  to  provide,  drunkenness,  and 
cruelty,  are  more  frequently  brought  against  the  husband 
than  against  the  wife,  thus  giving  the  wife  a legal  ground  for 
divorce  more  frequently  than  the  husband.^® 

Duration  of  married  life.  — In  more  than  a fourth  of  all 
the  marriages  ending  in  divorce  separation  took  place  within 
two  years  from  the  time  of  marriage.  More  than  one  half 
of  the  total  number  of  separations  have  taken  place  by  the 
end  of  the  fifth  year.^^ 

Remarriage.  — • It  is  commonly  supposed  that  a large  num- 
ber of  divorces  are  secured  for  the  purpose  of  marrying  again, 


244 


Social  Problems 


but  the  data  available  do  not  bear  out  this  conclusion.  No 
definite  information  was  secured  on  this  subject  by  the 
Federal  Census,  but  in  several  of  the  New  England  states 
where  careful  records  were  kept,  it  was  shown  that  only  one 
third  of  the  divorced  persons  married  again.  This  number 
included  those  who  were  married  many  years  after  their 
divorce,  and  consequently  gives  no  indication  of  the  number 
securing  divorces  for  the  purpose  of  remarriage.^® 

Migration  and  divorce.  — It  has  been  shown  that  about  one 
divorced  couple  out  of  every  five  have  moved  to  some  other 
state  from  that  in  which  the  marriage  took  place.  This  does 
not  prove,  however,  that  they  moved  to  some  other  state  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  the  divorce,  as  the  general  movement 
from  state  to  state  was  at  almost  exactly  this  same  ratio. 
Because  of  the  notoriety  attached  to  a few  of  those  socially 
prominent  who  formerly  went  to  some  such  place  as  Sioux 
Falls  or  Reno  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a divorce,  the  extent 
of  migration  for  such  purposes  has  been  overestimated  in  the 
popular  mind.^® 

Distribution.  — A marked  difference  in  regard  to  the  prev- 
alence of  divorce  was  found  to  exist  between  the  several 
geographic  divisions  of  the  United  States.  The  rate  for  the 
North  Central  division  was  more  than  two  and  a haK  times, 
and  that  of  the  Western -division  more  than  four  times,  that 
for  the  North  Atlantic  states.^®  This  indicates  a rapidly 
increasing  divorce  rate  as  one  goes  westward.  This  increase 
has  been  explained  by  the  fact  that  in  the  West  we  have  a 
newer  section  of  the  country,  and  easier  divorce  laws.  Such 
sections  always  include  a greater  proportion  of  the  energetic 
and  self-reliant,  and  also  of  the  discontented  and  lawless  ele- 
ments of  the  population,  such  elements  as  would  be  more  apt 
to  resist  any  form  of  restraint.  Study  has  also  shown  the 
divorce  rate  to  be  greater  in  the  larger  cities  than  in  the  rural 
districts.  Careful  records  kept  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota, 
since  1910,  show  that  for  the  past  several  years  there  has  been 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


245 


one  divorce  for  every  eight  marriages  in  that  city.  Many 
cities  have  shown  an  even  higher  proportion  than  this. 

Comparison  with  other  countries?'^  — The  United  States 
has  a higher  divorce  rate  than  any  foreign  country  except 
Japan.  It  is  about  three  times  that  of  France,  five  times  that 
of  Germany,  ten  times  that  of  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  about 
thirty  times  that  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

Legal  grounds  for  divorce.  — Statistics  often  misleading.  — ■ 
Although  we  have  very  definite  statistics  regarding  the  causes 
for  which  divorces  have  been  granted,  these  statistics  by  no 
means  give  us  an  accurate  picture  of  the  real  causes  of  separa- 
tion. Other  causes  than  the  real  are  often  given  in  the  peti- 
tion for  divorce.  This  may  be  for  the  reason  that  the  cause 
given  will  result  in  less  humiliation  to  the  parties  concerned, 
or  that  it  may  be  more  easily  proved  ; or  the  cause  given  may 
be  accepted  as  a legal  ground,  whereas  the  real  cause  may  not 
be  so  accepted  in  that  particular  state.  Again,  there  may  be 
indirect  causes,  more  real  than  the  alleged  causes,  as  in  the 
case  of  a wife  leaving  her  husband  because  of  cruelty  or 
drunkenness.  In  such  a case  the  husband  might  secure  a 
divorce  on  the  grounds  of  desertion.  This,  then,  would  be 
the  listed  cause,  but  not  the  real  cause.^^ 

Variations  with  the  different  states.  — The  matter  of  divorce 
being  left  to  the  several  states,  we  have  as  many  different 
codes  of  divorce  laws  as  there  are  states.  South  Carolina 
grants  no  divorces ; New  York  recognizes  but  one  legal 
ground  for  divorce,  that  of  adultery ; while  a number  of  the 
states  list  some  twelve  or  fourteen  possible  causes  for  abso- 
lute divorce.  Some  states  have  exceedingly  lenient  laws, 
making  it  a very  simple  and  easy  process  to  secure  a divorce. 
In  certain  places  desertion  for  one  year,  cruelty,  neglect  to 
provide,  abandonment,  ungovernable  temper,  and  physical 
incapacity,  are  considered  legal  grounds. 

In  the  Federal  “ Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  some 
forty-seven  causes  are  given,  although  a very  large  proper- 


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tion  of  the  divorces  (94  per  cent)  are  granted  for  the  five 
principal  causes,  desertion,  cruelty,  adultery,  drunkenness, 
and  neglect  to  provide,  and  for  combinations  of  these  causes. 
By  far  the  greatest  of  all  the  single  causes  for  divorce  is  de- 
sertion, about  two  fifths  of  all  those  granted  being  for  this 
alone.  This  does  not  give  us  any  indication  of  the  cause  of 
desertion.  More  than  three  fourths  of  all  divorces  are 
granted  for  the  three  main  causes,  desertion,  cruelty,  and 
adultery.  Although  drunkenness  is  given  as  a direct  cause  in 
comparatively  few  cases,  intemperance  is  given  as  the  direct 
or  indirect  cause  in  about  20  per  cent  of  the  cases;  that 
is,  ‘‘  intemperance  was  present  in  about  one  divorce  case  out 

of  every  five.’’ 23 

Causes  of  the  increase  of  divorce.  — The  cause  of  the 
greatly  increasing  number  of  divorces  within  the  past  few 
decades  may  be  found  in  the  great  economic  and  social 
changes  which  have  taken  place.  Changes  in  the  form  of 
industry  have  revolutionized  conditions  within  the  home. 
The  position  of  woman  in  the  industrial  life  has  undergone 
the  greatest  change  within  this  period,  and  growing  out  of 
this  has  come  a change  in  her  social  and  political  life.  As 
she  has  become  more  free,  she  has  revolted  against  conditions 
to  which  she  formerly  helplessly  and  hopelessly  submitted. 
Thus  we  see  that  the  increasing  number  of  divorces  is  not 
necessarily  due  to  an  increasing  immorality,  but  may  be  due 
to  changing  economic  and  social  conditions,  and  the  adjust- 
ments growing  out  of  these. 

Economic  interdependence  of  husband  and  wife  lessened.  — 
Under  the  earlier  form  of  industry,  where  the  economic  life 
centered  within  the  household,  the  husband  and  wife  each 
had  a particular  part  of  the  household  duties  to  perform. 
They,  assisted  often  by  the  children,  performed  all  the  duties 
that  made  for  the  satisfaction  of  their  wants,  and  the  home 
was  a well  rounded  out  economic  factor  in  itself.  With  the 
introduction  of  the  factory  system,  many  industries  were 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


247 


taken  from  the  home  to  the  factory.  As  manufacturing, 
trade,  and  commerce  developed,  an  increasingly  large  pro- 
portion of  men  carried  on  their  work  outside  of  the  home. 
Later,  those  industries  which  were  the  wife’s  particular  prov- 
ince, the  preparation  of  food  and  clothing,  were  largely 
absorbed  by  the  factory ; and  the  introduction  of  machinery, 
with  its  subsequent  division  of  labor,  opened  up  new  fields 
for  the  employment  of  women.  In  this  way  the  cooperation 
and  the  mutual  dependence  of  one  party  upon  the  other  has 
been  lessened.  This  mutual  dependence  is  found  to-day 
upon  the  farm  to  a much  greater  degree  than  in  other  places. 
These  changes  in  the  form  of  industry  have  made  it  possible 
for  either  the  man  or  the  woman  to  get  along  alone  with  fewer 
inconveniences.  Indications  of  this  are  the  increasing  num- 
ber of  bachelor  apartments  that  are  going  up  in  our  cities, 
and  the  extension  of  club  life.  With  the  increasing  number 
of  occupations  opening  up  to  her,  woman  has  likewise  be- 
come less  dependent  upon  a home.  In  these  ways  have  the 
industrial  ties  which  tended  to  hold  man  and  wife  together 
become  loosened.  While  formerly  they  were  restrained  from 
applying  for  a divorce  because  of  this  industrial  dependence 
of  the  one  upon  the  other,  now  that  this  has  lessened,  the 
restraint  has  become  less  effective. 

The  changing  status  of  woman.  — As  woman  has  become 
more  independent  economically,  she  has  also  become  more 
independent  intellectually  and  legally.  Throughout  the 
last  century,  a marked  change  has  taken  place  in  woman’s 
position.  From  a position  of  subjection,  she  has  gradually 
advanced,  at  least  in  the  more  enlightened  countries,  to  a 
position  of  comparative  equality  with  man.  The  woman  of 
a few  years  ago  would  submit  to  many  things  which  the 
woman  of  to-day  would  not  think  of  bearing.  It  is  only 
within  the  last  few  years  that  our  schools,  colleges,  and  uni- 
versities have  been  generally  open  to  women.  To-day,  50 
per  cent  more  girls  than  boys  are  graduating  from  the  high 


248 


Social  Problems 


schools. This  not  only  tends  to  make  woman  more  inde- 
pendent, but  also  more  self-assertive,  and  more  efficient  in 
demanding  her  rights.  With  this  has  come  a change  in  her 
legal  status.'  From  being  looked  upon  as  little  more  than 
property,  she  is  now  recognized  as  having  rights  before  the 
law,  in  a few  states  equal  to  man’s.  As  she  has  becgme  more 
independent  and  more  efficient,  and  as  she  has  been  granted 
rights  before  the  law,  it  is  but  natural  that  she  should  call 
upon  the  courts  to  free  her  from  conditions  that  have  become 
unbearable. 

Lack  of  preparation  for  home  duties.  — Under  former  con- 
ditions, the  boy  worked  about  the  home  assisting  the  father 
in  his  many  activities,  and  in  this  way  served  his  period  of 
apprenticeship.  Through  these  associations  he  became 
fitted  to  take  his  place  in  a home  of  his  own.  With  the 
change  that  has  come  in  family  life,  and  the  change  in  modes 
and  conditions  of  work,  the  boy  has  been  deprived  of  much 
of  this  companionship  with  his  father,  and  of  many  of  these 
home  influences  which  were  so  important  in  preparing  him 
efficiently  to  cope  with  the  problems  and  duties  of  a 
home. 

The  daughter  in  assisting  about  the  household  in  the  earlier 
days,  learned  to  weave,  to  knit,  to  sew,  to  cook,  and  to  care 
for  the  younger  children.  These  years  of  training  in  the 
home  of  her  mother  most  admirably  fitted  her  for  her  future 
place  in  a home  of  her  own.  The  new  economic  and  social 
conditions  have  more  seriously  interfered  with  the  prepara- 
tion for  marriage  of  the  young  women  than  of  the  young  men. 
In  the  crowded  city  homes,  opportunities  are  lacking  for  any 
practical  preparation  of  the  girl  for  her  home  duties,  even  if 
she  be  not  one  of  the  army  of  factory  girls.  In  the  so-called 
higher  class  homes,  a distorted  idea  of  society  or  of  higher 
education,  and  an  unduly  exaggerated  idea  of  the  relative 
place  these  interests  ought  to  take  in  the  life  of  a girl,  have 
led  to  a subordination  of  those  activities  which  would 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


249 


better  prepare  her  for  her  place  in  the  home.  Thus  it  is  that 
the  inefficiency  of  the  wife  as  a housekeeper,  and  this  lack  of 
preparation  for  home  duties  on  the  part  of  both  the  man  and 
the  woman,  have  led  to  much  dissension  which  has  termi- 
nated in  legal  separation. 

Higher  standards  of  life.  — Recent  years  have  seen  an 
enormous  increase  in  the  production  of  wealth.  Along  with 
this  increase  have  come  growing  inequalities  in  the  possession 
of  this  wealth.  Many  have  been  educated  to  higher  stand- 
ards of  living  only  to  find  themselves  without  the  means  for 
satisfying  these  higher  demands.  There  has  been  a striving 
for  wealth  and  position  beyond  the  possibilities  of  attainment, 
•and  this  constant  striving  after  something  which  is  beyond 
reach,  on  the  part  of  either  or  both  of  the  parties,  often  leads 
to  discontent  and  estrangement.  This  higher  cost  of  living 
undoubtedly  causes  many  among  the  more  highly  educated 
and  professional  classes  to  defer  marriage.  The  young  people 
see  many  comforts  and  luxuries  all  about  them,  and  rather 
than  be  deprived  of  these,  they  await  an  established  income 
before  marrying.  At  this  later  age  their  individuality  has 
become  more  pronounced,  their  modes  of  thought  and  action 
have  become  crystallized,  and  it  is  more  difficult  for  each  to 
become  adapted  to  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of  the  other. 
Moreover,  there  are  apt  to  be  fewer  children  in  these  late 
marriages.  This  is  an  important  item,  inasmuch  as  children 
are  one  of  the  strongest  factors  in  preventing  separation  and 
divorce. 

The  weakening  of  tradition.  — These  past  few  decades  have 
seen  a remarkable  development  of  individual  liberty  in  the 
political,  the  industrial,  and  even  in  the  religious  life  of  the 
people.  Along  with  this  growth  of  individualism,  there  has 
come  a reaction  against  the  customs  and  traditions  of  the 
past.  In  this  realization  of  greater  freedom,  many  have  gone 
to  extremes,  in  that  they  have  resisted  all  forms  of  re- 
straint. This  is  a perfectly  natural  tendency,  and  has  been 


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Social  Problems 


an  accompaniment  of  every  great  movement  toward  freedom 
throughout  history.  Along  with  this  growing  sense  of  free- 
dom, this  increasing  antagonism  toward  any  form  of  restraint, 
has  come  a weakening  of  the  influence  of  religion  and  of 
public  opinion  in  preserving  family  traditions.  There  has 
been  a gradual  weakening  of  the  religious  conceptions  of  mar- 
riage^ without  a corresponding  strengthening  of  the  social 
and  legal  aspects. 

There  has  also  taken  place  a breaking  down  of  the  restraint 
of  public  opinion.  In  our  present  high-tensioned  life,  with  its 
rapid  changes,  and  particularly  in  our  crowded  cities  where 
one  family  knows  and  cares  little  about  its  next-door  neighbor, 
even  though  they  be  in  the  same  tenement  or  apartment 
house,  the  individual  does  not  feel  that  restraint  of  public 
opinion  which  has  always  been  not  only  a strong  factor  in 
controlling  his  everyday  actions,  but  which  has  also  deterred 
many  from  seeking  separation  through  the  divorce  courts. 

Formerly,  when  marriage  was  entered  upon,  it  was  entered 
upon  for  life.  There  was  no  thought  of  any  breaking  of  the 
vows  other  than  by  death.  To-day  we  rarely  pick  up  a paper 
that  does  not  have  accounts  of  divorce  proceedings,  and  we 
are  constantly  confronted  with  such  facts  as  this,  that  “ one 
marriage  out  of  every  twelve  ends  in  divorce.”  Such  facts 
as  these  supplanting  the  traditional  view  of  marriage,  cannot 
but  have  great  influence  upon  the  individual.  With  these 
possibilities  of  divorce  constantly  before  him,  the  individual 
will  be  much  more  careless  in  entering  into  marriage,  and  the 
pettiest  family  grievances  are  wont  to  turn  his  thoughts 
toward  the  divorce  courts. 

Proposed  remedies.  — Legal  reforms.  — Naturally  any 
attempt  to  remedy  the  divorce  evil  should  begin  by  improving 
the  marriage  laws.  We  realize  the  importance  of  this  when 
we  consider  that  more  than  a fourth  of  all  separations  take 
place  within  the  first  two  years  of  wedded  life. 

There  is  quite  as  great  need  for  uniform  divorce  laws  as 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


251 


for  uniform  marriage  laws.  These  may  come  either  through 
constitutional  amendment,  or  through  the  cooperation  of  the 
different  states  for  securing  uniform  legislation. 

An  offense  serious  enough  to  give  legal  grounds  for  divorce, 
is  a serious  offense  against  society,  and  should  be  dealt  with 
under  the  regular  forms  of  criminal  legal  procedure. 

No  divorce  should  be  granted  without  the  state  being  repre- 
sented in  the  proceedings.  Marriage  is  a legal  contract, 
the  breaking  of  which  seriously  affects  society,  and  society 
should  protect  itself  by  being  thus  represented. 

Fewer  grounds  for  divorce  should  be  recognized  by  the 
courts.  Such  elastic  grounds  as  “ incompatibility  ’’  and 
“ ungovernable  temper  are  unworthy  of  the  serious  con- 
sideration of  any  court. 

The  establishing  of  a Court  of  Domestic  Relations,^®  or  of 
a Divorce  Proctor,  in  some  of  our  leading  cities,  has  resulted 
in  bringing  about  many  reconciliations  after  divorces  have 
been  applied  for.  Often  difficulties  are  adjusted  through  the 
agent  of  the  court,  or  the  court  proctor,  before  reaching  the 
stage  of  applying  for  a divorce.  A court  like  this  comes  into 
confidential  relations  with  disaffected  couples,  is  able  to  get 
at  the  real  causes  of  domestic  troubles,  and  can  bring  about 
a happy  settlement  in  a large  number  of  cases.  Such  courts 
should  be  established  wherever  divorces  are  granted. 
Through  them,  the  haste  and  mere  routine  forms  which  now 
characterize  the  proceedings  of  many  of  our  divorce  courts 
would  be  avoided. 

Training  for  home-making.  — There  must  be  the  closest 
cooperation  between  the  church  and  the  school,  and  between 
each  of  these  and  the  home,  in  the  training  of  the  child  for  his 
place  in  society.  Through  both  moral  and  religious  teachings 
the  sanctity  and  purity  of  family  life  must  be  upheld,  and  the 
right  ideals  of  marriage  and  home  life  taught. 

Greater  attention  must  be  given  to  the  actual  training  of 
the  child  for  the  duties  of  the  home.  No  girl  should  leave 


252 


Social  Problems 


school  without  having  had  training  in  such  of  the  domestic 
arts  as  will  equip  her  for  her  duties  as  a home-maker. 

Social  legislation.  — Intemperance  has  been  shown  to  be  a 
factor  in  one  fifth  of  the  divorces  granted.  Of  the  cases 
brought  before  the  Court  of  Domestic  Relations  in  Chicago 
last  year,  forty-six  out  of  every  one  hundred  were  due  to 
excessive  drinking.^^  It  is  evident  that  any  measures  which 
will  promote  temperance,  will  also  mitigate  the  divorce  evil. 

Other  social  legislation,  such  as  that  directed  against  the 
social  evil,  that  aiming  to  improve  conditions  surrounding 
the  home,  — in  fact,  such  legislation  as  will  tend  to  eliminate 
the  evils  in  our  social  life,  and  develop  strong  wholesome  in- 
fluences, will  lessen  the  occasions  for  divorce. 

Conclusion.  — It  has  been  estimated  that  if  the  rate  of 
divorce  continues  to  increase  as  rapidly  as  it  has  the  past  few 
decades,  by  1950  one  fourth,  and  by  1990  one  half,  of  all 
marriages  in  the  United  States  will  be  terminated  by  divorce. 
The  rapid  increase  has  led  many  to  predict  that  the  trend  of 
social  evolution  would  continue  along  the  lines  of  more  free 
divorces.  Some  have  even  advocated  trial  marriages  and  free 
love,  maintaining  that  this  was  the  direction  in  which  we  were 
moving,  and  holding  that  to  stand  for  such  indicated  that 
they  were  in  advance  of  their  time. 

Every  great  stage  in  social  evolution  has  had  its  ill-bal- 
anced enthusiasts  who  have  contended  that  their  own  extrem- 
ist views  indicated  the  direction  of  social  progress.  Such 
movements  as  the  Peasants’  Rebellion,  the  Reformation,  and 
the  Revolution,  as  well  as  the  present  period  of  readjustment, 
all  have  had  their  extremists.  However,  the  contentions  of 
these  extremists  have  not  been  representative  of  the  great 
movements  of  social  development.  The  general  course  of 
progress  has  been  along  definite  channels,  and  has  been  in 
the  direction  of  greater  democracy,  the  higher  position  of 
woman,  and  more  permanent  family  relations.  In  the  pres-  j 
ent  transitional  period,  as  women  are  becoming  more  inde- 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


253 


pendent,  and  as  appeal  to  the  courts  is  becoming  more  com- 
mon to  all  classes,  may  it  not  be  that  this  increasing  number 
of  divorces  indicates  one  of  these  movements  off  on  a tangent 
rather  than  the  real  direction  of  social  progress  ? 

As  we  look  back  over  the  past,  it  is  evident  that  the  whole 
trend  of  social  evolution  has  been  away  from  the  easily 
broken  marriage  tie  toward  the  strictly  monogamous  mar- 
riage. The  permanent  marriage  bond  between  the  one  hus- 
band and  the  one  wife  has  been  characteristic  of  all  our  most 
advanced  civilizations.  This  permanency  of  the  marriage 
bond  is  not  only  in  accord  with  social  evolution,  but  is  also 
in  accord  with  our  highest  social,  ethical,  and  religious  ideals. 
More  than  a fourth  of  the  children  in  our  many  reform  schools 
and  homes  for  dependent  children  come  from  homes  in  which 
there  has  been  desertion  or  divorce.^®  Any  loosening  of  the 
marriage  bond  could  only  lead  to  the  neglect  of  childhood, 
and  to  general  social  demoralization.  ‘‘  The  welfare  of  the 
child,  as  well  as  the  moral  character  of  adults,  is  bound  up 
with  the  stability  of  the  family.”  More  free  divorce  cannot 
but  lead  to  promiscuous  marriage.  This  is  contrary  to  the 
whole  teaching  and  spirit  of  Christianity,  one  of  the  most 
fundamental  ideas  of  which  is  the  purity  of  the  family. 
As  Graham  Taylor  has  said,  “ Nothing  human  is  so  identified 
with  all  that  is  divine  as  is  the  family.” 

QUESTIONS 

1.  In  what  several  ways  may  the  family  be  said  to  be  the 
fundamental  unit  in  society? 

2.  What  is  said  regarding  the  origin  of  the  family? 

3.  What  are  the  principal  types  of  the  family?  Give  main 
characteristics  of  each. 

4.  What  change  has  been  gradually  taking  place  in  the  re- 
lations between  husband  and  wife? 

5.  What  is  said  about  the  marriage  rate  in  the  United  States? 
The  marriage  age? 

6.  What  effects  have  economic  conditions  upon  marriage  ? 


254 


Social  Problems 


7.  What  is  said  of  the  marriage  laws  of  the  United  States  ? 

8.  What  are  some  of  the  more  important  proposed  reforms? 
Discuss  each. 

9.  What  is  the  extent  of  the  divorce  evil  in  the  United  States  ? 

10.  Are  the  greater  number  of  divorces  granted  to  husband  or 
wife?  How  is  this  explained? 

11.  What  is  said  regarding  the  duration  of  married  life?  Re- 
marriage? Migration  and  divorce? 

12.  How  does  the  number  of  divorces  granted  differ  in  different 
parts  of  the  country?  How  does  the  divorce  rate  of  this  country 
compare  with  that  of  some  of  the  other  countries  ? 

13.  What  are  the  principal  legal  grounds  for  divorce  ? 

14.  What  are  the  principal  causes  for  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  divorces  ? 

15.  Show  the  relation  between  the  economic  interdependence 
of  husband  and  wife  and  divorce. 

16.  How  has  the  changing  status  of  woman  affected  the  divorce 
rate? 

17.  What  is  said  of  the  lack  of  preparation  for  home  duties  and 
divorce  ? 

18.  How  may  higher  standards  of  life  influence  the  divorce 
rate? 

19.  What  is  said  about  the  weakening  of  tradition  and  divorce  ? 

20.  Mention  some  of  the  more  important  proposed  legal  re- 
forms. 

21.  What  other  proposed  remedies  are  mentioned?  Tell  about 
each. 

22.  Summarize  the  conclusion  to  the  chapter. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Graham  Taylor,  Religion  in  Social  Action,  p.  121. 

2.  Westermarck,  History  of  Human  Marriage,  p.  11. 

3.  Westermarck,  p.  50. 

4.  EUwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  pp.  108-9. 

5.  EUwood,  p.  110. 

6.  EUwood,  p.  115  et  seq. 

7.  Census,  1910,  “Population,”  p.  508  et  seq. 

8.  Bailey,  Modern  Social  Conditions,  p.  142. 

9.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  Census,  1909,  p.  190. 

10.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  p.  158. 

11.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  40. 


Marriage  and  Divorce 


255 


12.  Wright,  p.  159. 

13.  International  Year  Book,  1913,  “Marriage.” 

14.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  12. 

15.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  24. 

16.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  49. 

17.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  34. 

18.  Ross,  Changing  America,  p.  51. 

19.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  14. 

20.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  19. 

21.  Wright,  p.  166. 

22.  World’s  Almanac,  1914,  p.  275. 

23.  “Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  p.  29. 

24.  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Report,  1912. 

25.  Article  on  “Court  of  Domestic  Relations,”  Am.  Mag.,  Jan., 
1914. 

26.  EUwood,  p.  157. 

27.  EUwood,  p.  158. 

28.  Graham  Taylor,  p.  120. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

EUwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  Chs.  V-VIII. 
Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Ch.  X. 

“Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,”  Bureau  of  the  Census. 

Ross,  Changing  America,  Ch.  IV. 

Cooley,  Social  Organizations,  Ch.  XXXI. 

Westermarck,  History  of  Human  Marriage, 

BaUey,  Modern  Social  Conditions,  Ch.  IV. 

Thomas,  Source  Book  for  Social  Origins,  Part  IV. 

Howard,  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions. 

Adler,  Marriage  and  Divorce. 

Blackmar  and  Gillin,  Outlines  of  Sociology,  Part  II,  Chs.  V-VI. 
Goodsell,  The  Family  as  a Social  and  Educational  Institution. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  LIQUOR  PROBLEM 

I.  Survey  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

1.  Early  phases  of  the  problem. 

2.  Liquor  in  the  colonies. 

3.  Movements  against  intemperance. 

4.  Change  in  character  of  later  movementSo 

II.  Present  status  of  the  problem. 

1.  Amount  of  liquor  consumed. 

2.  Annual  drink  bill  of  the  United  States. 

3.  Government  revenues  from  liquor. 

4.  Some  economic  phases  of  prohibition. 

III.  Effects  of  intemperance. 

1.  Poverty. 

2.  Crime. 

3.  Insanity. 

4.  Disease  and  death  due  to  alcohol. 

5.  Influence  of  alcoholism  on  heredity. 

6.  Controlling  action  justifled. 

IV.  Control  of  the  traffic. 

1.  Prohibition. 

2.  Local  option. 

3.  License. 

4.  Dispensary  system. 

V.  Associations  opposing  the  traffic. 

1.  Good  Templars. 

2.  W.  C.  T.  U. 

3.  Prohibition  party. 

4.  Anti-Saloon  League. 

VI.  Substitutes  for  the  saloon. 

VII.  The  outlook. 

Survey  of  the  liquor  traffic.  — Early  phases  of  the  problem, 
— The  use  of  the  various  forms  of  brewed  and  fermented 
liquors  dates  back  almost  to  the  beginning  of  civilization, 

256 


The  Liquor  Problem 


257 


When  people  first  began  to  raise  fruits  and  grains,  they 
began  to  make  drinks,  and  the  earliest  history  of  all  peoples 
shows  their  familiarity  with  alcoholic  beverages.  The 
writings  of  the  early  Hebrews,  Egyptians,  Chinese,  and  of 
the  sages  of  India,  as  well  as  the  sagas  of  the  Norsemen,  not 
only  refer  to  the  use  of  liquors,  but  also  make  frequent 
references  to  the  drunkenness  of  the  people.  The  early 
histories  of  the  Saxons,  the  Danes,  and  the  Britons  make 
frequent  mention  of  the  use  of  intoxicants.  Most  nations 
to-day  have  some  more  or  less  characteristic  national  drink. 
The  Russians  have  their  vodka,  a distilled  liquor  commonly 
made  from  rye;  the  Japanese  their  sake,  a kind  of  beer 
made  by  the  fermentation  of  rice ; the  Mexicans  their  pulque, 
a fermented  drink  made  from  the  juice  of  the  agave ; and  the 
Tartar  tribes  have  their  kumiss,  a fermented  liquor  made 
from  milk.  The  Teutons  have  their  beers,  and  the  Latin 
races  their  wines.  All  of  these  drinks  are  alcoholic,  and  are 
to  a greater  or  less  degree  intoxicating. 

Liquor  in  the  colonies. — ^ Among  the  early  American  colonists, 
drinking  was  much  more  universal  than  at  the  present  time. 
Strong  drink  was  used  in  the  home,  and  on  all  special  occa- 
sions. It  was  very  much  in  evidence  at  the  barn  raisings,  at 
the  logrolling  contests,  and  husking  bees,  and  was  furnished 
to  the  harvest  hands  in  the  fields.  These  customs  were 
not  opposed  by  the  church,  nor  was  it  considered  out  of 
place  for  the  clergy  to  drink  with  the  people.  Although 
drinking  was  so  universal  during  this  period,  the  amount 
consumed  per  capita  was  very  much  less  than  it  is  to-day, 
as  drinking  in  those  days  was  not  a regular  and  systematic 
habit  as  it  is  now,  but  took  place  rather  on  occasions.^ 
Liquor  was  taken  as  a matter  of  course,  and  it  was  not 
generally  considered  any  disgrace  to  become  intoxicated. 

Movements  against  intemperance.  — The  first  movement 
against  intemperance  began  about  eighteen  hundred,  when 
several  abstinence  pledges  were  circulated.  The  first  tem- 
s 


Social  Problems 


258 

perance  society  was  founded  in  1808  in  New  York;  and 
a few  years  later,  one  was  founded  in  Massachusetts.  During 
the  first  quarter  century,  the  movement  was  directed 
primarily  against  the  use  of  distilled  liquors,  the  pledge 
having  reference  to  these  alone,  as  cider,  beer,  and  wine 
were  still  considered  harmless  and  indispensable.  The  next 
quarter  century,  however,  was  characterized  by  the  establish- 
ment of  many  temperance  societies,  most  of  them  based  on  a 
total  abstinence  pledge.  By  1833,  it  is  estimated  that  there 
were  six  thousand  local  societies,  having  over  a million 
members.^  By  the  middle  of  the  century,  these  movements 
against  intemperance  had  gained  sufficient  strength  to  secure 
the  passage  of  legislation  against  the  liquor  traffic.  In  1845, 
a law  was  passed  in  New  York  prohibiting  the  public  sale 
of  alcoholic  liquor.  This  law  was  referred  to  the  people  and 
received  a large  majority  vote,  but  was  repealed  in  1847. 

The  first  permanent  prohibition  law  was  passed  in  Maine 
in  1851.  The  next  quarter  century  was  characterized  by  re- 
newed agitation,  the  forming  of  strong  national  temperance 
associations,  and  by  prohibition  legislation  in  a number  of 
states.  In  the  first  decade  of  this  quarter  century,  from 
1850  to  1860,  fourteen  of  the  different  states  passed  prohibi- 
tion laws.  All  of  these  laws,  however,  except  for  the  state 
of  Maine,  have  since  been  repealed,  declared  unconstitu- 
tional, or  annulled  by  a hcense  tax  law.  It  was  in  this 
quarter  century  that  the  Order  of  Good  Templars  was 
formed  (1851),  the  Prohibition  Party  was  organized  (1869), 
and  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  (1874)  commenced  its  great  work  against 
the  liquor  traffic.  During  this  period,  a number  of  rehgious 
denominations  organized  temperance  societies  within  their 
own  ranks.  The  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union  was  formed 
in  Baltimore;  The  Congregational  Total  Abstinence  Asso- 
ciation started  in  1874 ; and  similar  associations  were 
formed  among  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  and  other 
denominations  about  this  same  time. 


The  Liquor  Problem 


259 


Wet  ” AND  “ Dry  ” Map  of  the  United  States,  January  1,  1916. 
Courtesy  of  The  American  Issue  Publishing  Company. 


26o 


Social  Prohlems 


The  period  including  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth, 
and  the  first  few  years  of  this  century,  has  been  characterized 
by  the  repeal  in  several  of  the  states  of  the  early  prohibition 
laws,  by  the  founding  of  the  Anti-Saloon  League  (1893),  and 
by  the  remarkable  extension  of  local  option,  by  the  industrial 
demands  for  temperance,  and  by  the  great  increase  of  ‘‘  dry  ” 
territory.  More  than  one  third  of  the  states  have  state- 
wide prohibition.  About  three  fourths  of  the  total  area  of 
the  United  States  is  “ dry”  territory,  and  a little  more  than 
one  half  of  the  total  population  of  the  United  States  is  living 
in  dry  ” territory.^ 

Change  in  character  of  later  movements.  — The  earlier 
temperance  movement  was  directed  rather  against  the  drink 
habit  than  against  the  drink  traffic.  It  was  rather  a personal 
appeal  to  the  individual,  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
individual.  It  sought  to  reform  the  drunkard,  and  to 
^prevent  others  from  becoming  addicted  to  the  liquor  habit. 
The  present  movement,  while  not  losing  sight  of  the  indi- 
vidual, approaches  the  question  more  from  a social  point  of 
view.  It  recognizes  the  evils  of  the  drink  habit,  but  directs 
its  energies  primarily  against  the  drink  traffic  as  the  most 
effective  means  of  reaching  the  habit.  It  is  only  within 
recent  years  that  we  have  begun  to  make  a careful  study 
of  our  social  problems.  As  we  have  attempted  to  analyze 
such  problems  as  those  of  crime,  of  divorce,  of  insanity,  of 
feeble-mindedness,  poverty,  unemployment,  and  disease,  we 
have  begun  to  realize  the  part  intemperance  has  played  in 
all  these  problems.  The  emphasis  to-day  is  being  placed 
on  the  ‘‘  removal  of  the  causes.”  We  are  approaching  prob- 
lems like  these  in  a more  scientific  way  than  formerly.  As 
our  social  order  becomes  more  complex,  we  become  more 
dependent  upon  one  another,  and  we  begin  to  realize  that 
what  affects  one,  affects  the  many.  It  is  not  merely  the 
question  of  one  individual  being  intemperate,  but  if  that 
individual  through  his  excesses  adds  to  the  burdens  of  poverty 


The  Liquor  Problem 


261 


or  of  crime,  which  we  have  to  pay  for,  his  excesses  concern 
us  all.  Personal  liberty  is  most  desirable,  but  when  that 
liberty  encroaches  upon  others,  when  others  have  to  pay 
for  the  abuse  of  that  liberty,  there  is  justice  in  restraint. 

The  liquor  problem  is  being  considered  from  a broader 
point  of  view  than  ever  before.  The  criminologist  is  studying 
the  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  its  relation  to  crime. 
The  economist  is  studying  it  from  the  standpoint  of  its  effect 
upon  the  efficiency  of  the  worker.  The  captains  of  industry, 
the  heads  of  our  great  railroads,  and  other  industrial  organiza- 
tions, are  studying  the  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
individual  efficiency  of  the  employees.  The  biologist  studies 
it  for  its  effect  on  heredity,  and  its  relation  to  feeble-minded- 
ness and  insanity.  The  social  worker  studies  it  from  the 
standpoint  of  its  relation  to  poverty  and  to  the  dependent 
classes,  and  particularly  of  its  intimate  relation  with  vice. 
The  taxpayer  is  beginning  to  appreciate  the  enormous  cost 
of  the  results  of  the  liquor  traffic.  It  is  because  of  the  study 
of  the  problem  in  these  various  aspects,  and  of  the  fact  that 
the  people  are  becoming  aroused  to  the  far-reaching  influences 
of  the  hquor  traffic,  that  the  movement  looking  toward  the 
control  of  the  traffic  is  gaining  such  remarkable  headway 
to-day. 

Present  status  of  the  problem.  — Amount  of  liquor  con 
sumed^  — The  total  amount  of  liquor  consumed  in  the 
United  States  in  1914  reached  the  enormous  amount  of 
twenty-two  and  one  half  gallons  for  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  country.  If  we  do  not  count  the  women, 
nor  those  under  twenty  years  of  age,  this  means  an  average 
consumption,  for  every  man  twenty  years  of  age  and  over,  of 
approximately  eighty  gallons  a year.  The  total  amount 
consumed  was  about  two  and  a quarter  billion  gallons 
(2,252,272,765  gallons).  Perhaps  these  numbers  will  be 
more  readily  comprehended  if  we  consider  that  this  amount 
would  fill  to  overflowing  a ditch  four  feet  wide  and  four  and 


262 


Social  Problems 


one  half  feet  deep,  extending  across  the  United  States  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific ; or  it  would  fill  a six- inch  pipe 
extending  eleven  and  a half  times  around  the  earth. 

Of  this  total  amount  consumed,  one  and  one  half  gallons 
per  capita  is  of  distilled  spirits,  including  rum,  gin,  whisky, 
and  alcohol.  About  half  a gallon  is  wine,  and  the  remaining 
twenty  and  a half  gallons  is  of  malt  liquors,  mostly  beer. 
The  amount  consumed  in  1914  was  about  twenty  million 
gallons  more  than  had  been  consumed  the  preceding  year. 
The  per  capita  consumption  has  increased  about  three 
4 gallons  in  the  past  ten  years.  This  increase  has  been  pri- 
marily in  malt  liquors.  The  amounts  of  distilled  spirits  and 
of  wines,  although  varying  from  year  to  year,  have  averaged 
almost  the  same  for  a considerable  period  of  years.  Distilled 
spirits  contain  about  45  per  cent  alcohol,  wines  10  per 
cent,  and  malt  liquors  4 per  cent.® 

The  United  States  is  thus  the  greatest  beer-consuming 
country  in  the  world,  and  second  only  to  Russia  in  the  con- 
sumption of  distilled  spirits.  In  the  per  capita  consumption 
of  beer,  the  United  States  ranks  fifth,  being  exceeded  by 
Belgium,  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany,  and  Denmark 
in  the  order  named.  In  the  per  capita  consumption  of 
distilled  spirits,  the  United  States  holds  sixth  place,  being 
exceeded  by  Denmark,  Germany,  Hungary,  Netherlands, 
Austria,  and  France.® 

The  annual  drink  bill  of  the  United  States.  — This  is  esti- 
mated at  from  one  and  a half  to  two  billion  dollars,  and  is 
probably  somewhere  between  these  two  extremes,  or  about 
$1,750,000,000.^  On  this  basis,  this  means  an  annual  tax 
of  about  eighteen  dollars  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child, 
in  the  country;  or,  for  every  family,  this  would  mean  an 
average  expenditure  of  about  ninety  dollars  a year.  When 
we  consider  the  large  number  of  families  where  no  liquor  is 
consumed,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  those  families  which  use 
liquors  the  average  would  be  considerably  higher  than  this. 


The  Liquor  Problem 


263 


UOUOI  w 

$1,750,000,000 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  FOR  ONE  YEAR! 


The  amount  of  our  annual  drink  bill  is  more  than  three  and 
a half  times  the  total  expenditure  for  our  public  schools, 
more  than  twice  the  total  amount  of  gold  and  silver  in 
circulation,  and  nearly  double  the  total  interest-bearing 
debt  of  the  United 
States.  As  com- 
pared with  the  total 
value  of  some  of  our 
manufactured  goods, 
the  liquor  bill  is 
equal  to  about  three 
times  the  value-  of 
the  cotton  products, 
and  is  equal  to  more 
than  three  times  the 
total  value  of  wool 
products.  This  value 
is  practically  equiva- 
lent to  the  total 
value  of  all  the  im- 
ports brought  into 
our  country  during 
the  year  1914.*  It 
is  only  by  comparing 
our  annual  drink  bill 
with  such  items  as 
these,  that  we  can 
arrive  at  any  com- 
prehension of  the 
enormous  amount 


THIS  WOULD- 

1.  Build  Ten  Hospitals  in  each  of  the 

48  States  in  the  Union  at  a cost  of 
S100,0fl0  each  and  endowed  with 
$500,000  each 

2.  Build  4 Colleges  in  each  State,  each 

costing  $1,000,000,  and  endowed 
with  $1,000,000  

3.  Build  a Road  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco  at  a cost  of  $10,000,- 
000,  and  give  each  State  $1,000,000 
to  build  tributary  roads  .... 

4.  Equip  10,000  Playgrounds  for 
Cnil^en  at  a cost  of  $2,000  each  , 

5.  Give  each  State  $10,000,000  for  In* 

dustrial  Education  in  the  public 
schools 

6.  Place  50  Libraries  in  each  State, 

each  costing  100,000  and  endowed 
with  $100,000 


$288,000,000 

384.000. 000 

58.000. 000 

20.000. 000 

480.000. 000 


480,000,000 

And  Leave  $40,000,000 


FOR 


MUNICIPAL  RECREATION  CENTRES 
IN  PLACE  OF  THE  SALOON 


Poster  issued  by  the  South  End  Alcohol 
Education  Committee  of  the  Boston  Asso- 
ciated Charities. 

— From  The  Survey,  June  27,  1914,  p.  351. 


that  we  are  spending  annually  for  liquor. 

Government  revenues  from  liquor.  — The  government  re- 
ceives each  year  a considerable  amount  in  the  way  of  customs 
and  license  fees  from  the  liquor  traffic.  The  total  amount 
received  in  1914  in  custom  revenues  from  malt  liquors,  wine, 


264 


Social  Problems 


and  distilled  spirits,  license  duties  and  internal  revenue, 
was  approximately  $250,000,000.^  The  liquor  license  fees 
in  this  country,  exclusive  of  the  Federal  tax,  amount  to  ap- 
proximately $80,000,000.^°  This  means  that  our  govern- 
ment, Federal  and  local,  is  receiving  annually  from  the 
liquor  traffic,  $330,000,000,  or  a little  less  than  one  fifth  of  the 
total  amount  expended  for  liquor.  Or,  for  every  five  dollars 
expended  by  the  people  in  the  purchase  of  liquor,  one  dollar 
is  returned  to  the  government  in  the  form  of  licenses,  customs, 
and  revenues. 

Some  economic  phases  of  prohibition.  — Much  is  being  said 
about  the  probable  effect  upon  industry  if  the  liquor  traffic 
were  to  be  eliminated.  Without  doubt  a great  many  are  kept 
from  voting  against  the  traffic  because  of  the  fear  that  thereby 
a large  number  might  be  thrown  out  of  employment ; but  there 
are  only  about  sixty-three  thousand  wage-earners  in  the 
liquor  industry  of  the  United  States. This  means  that 
less  than  one  out  of  every  one  hundred  of  the  total  number 
engaged  in  manufactures  is  engaged  in  the  making  of  liquor ; 
or,  less  than  one  out  of  six  hundred  of  the  total  number  of 
wage-earners  of  the  country.  Another  line  of  argument  is 
that  if  we  were  to  close  the  brewing  business,  it  would  take 
away  our  market  for  such  of  the  farm  products  as  are  used 
in  the  brewing  industry.  According  to  the  “ Text  Book  of 
True  Temperance  ’’  issued  by  the  United  States  Brewers’ 
Association,  there  is  an  annual  consumption  of  about  ninety- 
five  million  dollars’  worth  of  American  farm  products  by  the 
brewers.  When  we  compare  this  with  the  value  of  the  total 
farm  products,  however,  we  find  that  it  is  a little  less  than 
one  per  cent  of  the  total  value  of  those  products.  In  this 
connection  we  must  keep  in  mind  the  very  large  per  capita 
expenditure  for  liquors,  the  under-consumption  of  food 
by  a large  number  of  our  working  families,  and  the  fact  that 
if  this  industry  were  destroyed,  a considerable  proportion 
of  that  now  expended  for  liquor  would  undoubtedly  be 


The  Liquor  Problem 


265 


expended  for  farm  products.  This  increased  demand  for 
farm  products  would  probably  far  more  than  make  up  for 
the  lessened  demand  through  the  cutting  off  of  the  annual 
consumption  in  the  brewing  industries.  Another  fear  often 
expressed  by  those  engaged  in  transportation,  is  that  if  we 
were  to  eliminate  the  liquor  traffic,  it  would  seriously  cut 
into  the  receipts  of  the  railways.  However,  on  comparing 
the  freight  traffic  in  wines,  liquors,  and  beers,  with  the  total 
freight  traffic,  we  find  that  they  make  up  only  about  four 
tenths  of  one  per  cent  of  the  total  traffic. 

A further  comparison  of  the  liquor  industry  with  some  of 
the  other  leading  industries  shows  that  for  each  million  dollars 
invested,  the  liquor  business  employs . only  about  one  fifth 
as  many  workers  as  the  average  number  employed  in  the  five 
leading  industries,  the  textile,  iron  and  steel,  lumber,  leather, 
and  paper  and  printing  industries. Based  on  these  figures, 
Charles  Stelzle  estimates  that  if  the  amount  now  spent  for 
liquor  were  to  be  spent  for  bread  and  clothing,  “ it  would  give 
employment  to  eight  times  as  many  workers  who  would  col- 
lectively receive  five  and  a half  times  as  much  wages.” 

Another  class  to  be  thrown  out  of  their  employment  by 
prohibitory  laws,  are  the  saloon  keepers  and  bartenders. 
According  to  the  last  census  there  were  sixty-eight  thousand 
of  the  former,  and  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  latter.  This 
gives  one  saloon  keeper  or  bartender  out  of  every  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  of  those  engaged  in  gainful  occupation. 
There  is  no  reason  why  this  proportion  should  not  be  readily 
absorbed  in  other  industries.  Furthermore,  Stelzle  has 
pointed  out  that  if  the  amount  now  expended  for  liquor 
should  be  expended  for  bread  and  clothing,  this  would  give 
employment  to  a larger  number  of  people,  as  it  requires 
many  more  people  to  sell  a million  dollars’  worth  of  bread 
and  clothing  than  it  does  to  sell  liquor  of  the  same  value. 
When  we  consider  the  number  who  would  be  thrown  out  of 
employment  as  the  result  of  prohibition,  it  is  well  to  keep 


266 


Social  Problems 


in  mind  that  many  more  than  this  are  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment every  year,  as  the  result  of  arrests  for  drunkenness, 
and  through  being  incapacitated  for  their  regular  tasks 
because  of  dissipation. 

Effects  of  intemperance.  — Although  we  can  see  the 
effects  of  intemperance  all  about  us,  it  is  impossible  to  make 
any  exact  estimate  of  the  relation  between  intemperance 
and  crime,  poverty,  insanity,  or  other  social  conditions. 
It  is  an  extremely  delicate  matter  to  give  figures  in  dealing 
with  so  complex  a problem  as  that  of  the  relation  of  the 
liquor  traffic  to  social  conditions.  Many  estimates  are  made 
by  those  studying  these  problems,  and  in  these,  we  find  the 
greatest  variations  according  to  whether  or  not  the  person 
is  a friend  or  a foe  to  the  liquor  traffic.  It  is  impossible  to 
make  definite  estimates  in  our  analysis  of  <jauses  because  of 
the  complexity  and  interrelation  of  these  causes. 

Poverty.  — Take  for  instance  such  a problem  as  that  of 
poverty.  We  have  varying  estimates  as  to  the  causes  of 
poverty.  All  are  agreed  that  intemperance  is  one  of  the 
principal  causes,  and  most  reports  give  a definite  figure  to 
this  effect;  but  these  figures  do  not  give  any  indication  of 
the  importance  of  intemperance  as  a contributory  cause. 
Of  those  causes  mentioned  by  Dr.  Devine,  unemployment 
is  given  first,  but  no  indication  is  given  of  the  part  that 
intemperance  played  in  this  unemployment  — of  how  many 
were  thrown  out  of  work  because  of  intemperate  habits,  or 
of  how  many  were  unfitted  for  work  through  alcoholic 
excesses.  The  second  cause  mentioned  is  overcrowding. 
Intemperance,  again,  may  have  been  an  important  factor 
in  reducing  families  to  this  condition.  Physical  disability 
is  given  as  the  cause  of  a large  amount  of  poverty,  but  here 
again  we  have  no  way  of  knowing  the  part  intemperance 
played  in  this,  in  lowering  the  vitality  of  the  individual,  or 
in  causing  accidents  which  have  unfitted  him  for  work. 
The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  such  other  causes  as 


The  Liquor  Problem 


267 


desertion,  immorality,  unreliability,  and  mental  defects. 
These  are  all  given  as  direct  causes  of  poverty,  but  it  is  more 
than  likely  that  intemperance  was  a considerable  factor  in 
each  one  of  them. 

It  was  not  necessary  for  us  to  find  out  the  precise  number 
of  deaths  from  smallpox  before  taking  measures  to  wipe  out 
the  disease.  The  important  thing  was  to  realize  its  menace, 
and  the  possibility  of  its  elimination.  It  is  the  same  way  with 
the  liquor  traffic ; even  though  we  have  not  the  exact  figures, 
we  have  the  evidence  all  about  us  that  it  is  a serious  problem 
from  every  social  viewpoint,  and  we  know  that  it  can  be 
eliminated  when  we  become  aroused  to  action. 

During  the  last  few  years,  since  society  has  begun  to 
recognize  the  relation  of  intemperance  to  so  many  of  the  social 
problems,  a number  of  investigations  have  been  made  in 
regard  to  the  influences  of  the  liquor  traffic.  Probably  the 
most  exhaustive  study  of  the  problem  that  has  ever  been 
made  was  that  undertaken  a few  years  ago  by  the  “ Com- 
mittee of  Fifty.’’  This  committee  was  made  up  of  fifty  men, 
each  of  national  prominence  in  his  own  particular  field  of 
work.  As  a result  of  their  investigations,  they  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  about  25  per  cent  of  the  poverty 
which  comes  under  the  view  of  the  charity  organization 
societies,  and  about  37  per  cent  of  the  poverty  found 
in  almshouses,  can  be  traced  directly  or  indirectly  to 
hquor.^^  A still  larger  per  cent  of  the  destitution  of  children 
was  found  to  be  due  to  the  liquor  habits  of  parents  or  guard- 
ians. Dr.  Devine,  who  has  probably  had  as  extended  first- 
hand deahngs  with  the  poor  as  any  man  in  the  United  States, 
arrives  at  practically  this  same  estimate.  He  says  that 
“it  is  a conservative  estimate  that  one  fourth  of  all  cases 
of  destitution  with  which  private  agencies  have  to  deal 
are  fairly  attributable  to  intemperance.” 

Crime.  — Careful  investigations  in  regard  to  the  relations 
between  intemperance  and  crime  indicate  that  intemperance 


268 


Social  Problems 


is  directly  or  indirectly  a cause  of  about  50  per  cent  of  the 
crimes  committed.  The  “ Committee  of  Fifty  ” made  a 
careful  investigation  of  some  thirteen  thousand  convicts  in 
seventeen  prisons  and  reformatories  in  the  United  States. 
Their  conclusion  was  that  intemperance  was  one  of  the  causes 
of  crime  in  50  per  cent,  and  the  first  cause  in  31  per  cent, 
of  the  cases. This  investigation  did  not  include  ordinary 
jails,  and  so  did  not  take  account  of  persons  convicted  for 
misdemeanors,  including  drunkenness,  or  violation  of  the 
liquor  laws.  Two  other  very  extensive  investigations  have 
been  made  by  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics.  The 
first,  under  the  direction  of  Carroll  D.  Wright,  made  a study 
of  all  of  the  sentences  for  crime  in  the  state  for  the  previous 
twenty  years,  or  over  five  hundred  thousand  cases,  and 
showed  that  60  per  cent  of  all  cases  were  for  distinctively 
liquor  offenses. A more  detailed  study  was  made  of  all  the 
crimes  of  a single  county  (Suffolk)  for  one  year,  the  total 
number  of  sentences  within  this  one  year  being  nearly  seven- 
teen thousand.  This  study  showed  that  “ 84  per  cent  of 
all  crime  was  due  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  influence  of 
liquor.”  A similar  investigation  was  carried  on  later  in 
Massachusetts  under  the  direction  of  the  legislature.  This 
included  a careful  study  of  all  the  convictions  (26,672)  within 
the  state  for  a period  of  one  year,  and  the  conclusions  arrived 
at  were  almost  identical  with  those  arrived  at  in  the  earlier 
investigation.  That  is,  in  about  84  per  cent  of  the  whole 
number  of  convictions  “ the  intemperate  habits  of  the  of- 
fender led  to  a condition  which  induced  the  crime.” 

Insanity.  — As  regards  insanity  and  intemperance,  we 
find  a complex  situation.’  There  is  no  doubt  that  intem- 
perance is  a great  causal  factor  in  insanity,  and  there  is  also 
no  doubt  that  certain  mental  defects  lead  to  intemperance. 
A great  many  of  those  who  are  mentally  deficient,  who  are 
lacking  in  self-control,  become  addicted  to  the  liquor  habit. 
One  of  the  foremost  authorities  in  England  estimates  thal 


The  Liquor  Problem 


269 


in  at  least  62  per  cent  of  the  cases  coming  under  his  obser- 
vation, mental  defect  or  disease  was  the  cause  of  inebriety 
However,  it  is  probable  that  many  of  this  62  per  cent  were 
defective  because  of  alcoholic  excesses  of  the  parents,  or  be- 
cause of  disease  due  directly  or  indirectly  to  drink.  As  in 
the  other  cases,  although  we  do  not  have  exact  figures,  we 
do  have  figures  based  on  careful  investigations,  and  suffi- 
ciently exact  to  give  us  a fairly  accurate  idea  of  conditions. 
The  reports  of  the  Boards  of  Insanity  for  a number  of  the 
states,  and  particularly  the  reports  of  the  boards  of  Massa- 
chusetts,-^ where  careful  studies  have  been  made,  give  alcohol 
as  a causative  factor  in  from  17  to  22  per  cent  of  the  cases. 
Perhaps  as  fair  and  unbiased  an  estimate  as  we  have  on  this' 
question  is  that  made  by  Homer  Folks.  He  estimated  that 
20  per  cent  of  the  men,  and  10  per  cent  of  the  women,  ad- 
mitted to  hospitals  for  the  insane  are  afflicted  with  insanity 
“due  directly  and  exclusively  to  the  use  of  alcohol.” He 
recognizes  that  there  are  other  causes  of  insanity  to  which 
the  use  of  alcohol  is  believed  to  be  a contributing  factor. 

Disease  and  death  due  to  alcohol.  — We  have  no  means  of 
knowing  the  exact  number  of  deaths  in  the  United  States  due 
to  alcohol.  Perhaps  the  best  authority  we  have  on  this 
subject  is  Dr.  E.  B.  Phelps,  who,  in  his  “ Mortality  of 
Alcohol  ” estimates  the  number  of  deaths  annually,  in  the 
United  States  “ in  which  alcohol  may  have  figured  as  a 
causative  or  contributory  factor  ” at  about  sixty-six  thou- 
sand.2^  This  number  is  for  males  between  the  ages  of  twenty 
and  seventy-four  years,  and  does  not  take  into  consideration 
the  part  that  alcohol  plays  in  infant  mortality,  or  in  that  of 
others  under  the  age  of  twenty,  or  in  that  of  women.  Con- 
sidering these  other  factors,  Warner  says  that  of  all  the 
deaths  due  in  any  way  to  liquor,  “ the  popular  estimate  of 
one  hundred  thousand  a year  is  in  all  probability  conserva- 
tive.” Although  scientists  are  not  agreed  as  to  figures, 
they  do  agree  as  to  the  effect  that  alcohol  has  on  the  health 


270 


Social  Problems 


of  the  individual.  One  of  the  most  important  facts  is  that 
those  who  drink  to  excess  are  more  liable  to  contract  disease, 
and  also,  that  the  disease  is  apt  to  be  of  greater  severity.^® 
This  brings  us  to  the  conclusion  that  intemperance  not  only 
leads  to  certain  diseases,  but  it  also  weakens  the  power  of 
resistance  to  disease  that  should  be  the  natural  possession  of 
every  individual.  One  of  the  best  examples  of  this  is  that 
given  by  Dr.  Osier.  He  shows  “ that  in  100  cases  of  pneu- 
monia, among  abstainers  18.5  per  cent  die ; among  moderate 
drinkers,  25.4  per  cent;  among  steady  or  heavy  drinkers, 
52.8  per  cent.” 

The  influence  of  alcoholism  on  heredity  is  becoming  better 
recognized  with  the  further  study  of  hereditary  tendencies. 
Many  experiments,  made  recently,  show  the  effect  of  alcohol 
on  the  offspring  of  alcoholic  parents.  In  practically  every 
case,  it  has  been  found  that  there  is  a much  larger  proportion 
of  defectives  among  the  children^  of  alcoholics.  One  of  the 
most  striking  experiments  in  testing  the  physiological  influ- 
ence of  alcohol  was  that  carried  on  by  Professor  Hodge  of 
Clark  University,  under  the  direction  of  the  “ Committee  of 
Fifty.”  He  obtained  two  pairs  of  cocker  spaniel  puppies, 
as  nearly  alike  as  it  was  possible  to  get  them.  Two  were 
given,  along  with  their  regular  food,  a small  amount  of  alcohol 
daily,  but  not  enough  to  produce  at  any  time  any  evidence 
of  intoxication.  The  tracing  out  of  the  results  of  these 
experiments  affords  a most  striking  lesson  on  the  physiologi- 
cal effects  of  alcohol.  A number  of  tests  were  made  to 
determine  the  effect  upon  the  strength,  ability,  and  resist- 
ance to  fatigue.  These  tests  showed  a marked  decline  in  the 
activity  of  the  pair  that  had  been  fed  alcohol.  They  seemed 
to  have  much  less  energy,  and  their  resistance  to  fatigue  was 
much  less.  The  most  striking  effect,  however,  was  shown 
in  the  offspring  of  the  two  pair.  Of  the  pair  which  had  been 
given  no  alcohol,  90  per  cent  of  the  offspring  were  healthy 
and  normal ; while  of  the  other  pair,  but  17  per  cent  were 


The  Liquor  Problem 


271 


healthy  and  normal.  A comparison  is  made  of  the  outcome 
of  these  experiments  with  comparative  observations  which 
had  been  made  by  Professor  Demme  upon  alcoholic  and  non- 
alcoholic families,  which  shows  strikingly  similar  results. 
From  the  ten  normal  families  88  per  cent  of  the  children 
were  normal,  while  from  the  ten  alcoholic  families,  but  17  per 
cent  of  the  children  were  normal,  the  remaining  83  per  cent 
being  deformed  or  defective  in  some  way.^®  Many  other  ex- 
periments have  been  made  with  animals,  also  many  observa- 
tions have  been  made  regarding  the  influence  of  alcohol  on 
offspring  of  alcoholics  and  non-alcoholics,  all  of  which  seem 
to  indicate  that  while  alcohol  has  a marked  influence  on  the 
physiological  conditions  of  the  individual,  it  has  an  even 
more  marked  influence  in  causing  degeneracy  of  the  offspring. 

Controlling  action  justified.  — Accepting  only  the  most 
conservative  flgures,  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  liquor 
is  the  cause  of  at  least  one  fifth  of  the  insanity,  one  fourth  of 
the  poverty,  and  one  half  of  the  crime  in  this  country ; that 
it  materially  increases  the  death  rate ; that  it  seriously  affects 
the  health  and  vigor  of  the  individual ; and  that  it  is  a most 
potent  force  of  race  degeneracy.  Perhaps  two  of  the  ablest 
investigators  who  have  ever  attempted  a scientific  investiga- 
tion of  social  conditions  are  Charles  Booth  of  England,  and 
Carroll  D.  Wright  of  the  United  States.  Certainly  no  one 
could  accuse  either  of  these  men  of  the  bias  of  the  temper- 
ance agitator.  Booth  says,  “Df  drink  in  all  its  combinations, 
adding  to  every  trouble,  undermining  every  effort  after  good, 
destroying  the  home  and  cursing  the  young  lives  of  children, 
the  stories  tell  enough.  It  does  not  stand  as  apparent  chief 
cause  in  so  many  cases  as  sickness  and  old  age ; but  if  it  were 
not  for  drink,  sickness  and  old  age  could  be  better  met.” 
Carroll  D.  Wright,  following  his  careful  study  of  actual 
conditions  as  they  existed  in  Massachusetts,  concludes  his 
report  with  the  following  statement : “ These  figures  paint 
a picture,  at  once  the  most  faithful  and  hideous,  of  the  guilt 


272 


Social  Problems 


and  power  of  rum.  Men  and  women,  the  young,  the  middle- 
aged,  the  old,  the  father  and  son,  husband  and  wife,  native 
and  foreign-born,  the  night  walker  and  man  slayer,  the  thief 
and  adulterer,  — all  testify  to  its  ramified  and  revolting 
tyranny.  Therefore  the  result  of  this  investigation,  in  view 
of  the  disproportionate  magnitude  of  the  exclusively  rum 
offenses,  and  considered  in  connection  with  the  notorious 
tendency  of  liquor  to  inflame  and  enlarge  the  passions  and 
appetites,  to  import  chaos  into  the  moral  and  physical  life, 
to  level  the  barriers  of  decency  and  self-respect,  and  to 
transport  its  victims  into  an  abnormal  and  irresponsible 
state,  destructive  and  degrading,  calls  for  earnest  and 
immediate  attention  at  the  bar  of  the  public  opinion  and 
the  public  conscience  of  Massachusetts.”^^ 

Control  of  the  traffic.  — Prohibition.  — The  principal 
means  by  which  the  people  have  attempted  to  control  the 
liquor  traffic  have  been  by  prohibition,  local  option,  and 
license.  As  we  have  seen,  a number  of  the  states  passed 
prohibition  laws  only  to  repeal  them  later.  Recently,  several 
other  states  have  passed  such  laws,  South  Carolina  being  the 
nineteenth  addition  to  the  “ dry  ” column.  In  those  states 
where  there  are  large  centers  opposed  to  the  movement, 
prohibition  has  not  been  an  unqualified  success.  Such 
legislation  has  undoubtedly  succeeded  in  preventing  the 
making  of  liquors  on  a large  scale,  and  in  making  it  harder 
to  obtain  hquor.  It  has  removed  the  temptation  from  the 
young,  and  from  persons  disposed  to  alcoholic  excesses. 
In  some  states  there  have  been  counties  and  municipalities 
in  complete  and  successful  rebellion  against  such  laws.  In 
such  places  evil  consequences  have  resulted.  This  engenders 
a disrespect  for  law  and  order,  tends  to  increase  corruption, 
and  brings  public  service  into  contempt.^^  However,  where 
prohibition  is  backed  up  by  a strong  public  sentiment,  and 
vigorously  enforced,  there  is  no  question  but  that  it  can, 
and  does,  materially  lessen  the  evils  associated  with  the 


The  Liquor  Problem 


273 


traffic.  The  fairest  trial  that  prohibition  has  had  is  in 
Kansas.  It  was  adopted  in  this  state  in  1880,  and  since 
that  time  the  state  has  been  gradually  “ sobering  up,  getting 
the  alcohol  out  of  its  system,”  until  to-day,  William  Allen 
White  says  that  “ Kansas  has  fewer  murders,  fewer  homi- 
cides, and  fewer  accidental  deaths  than  any  other  state,” 
and  that  “ 48  counties  in  this  state  did  not  send  a prisoner  to 
the  penitentiary  last  year,  and  87  counties  did  not  send  an 
insane  patient  to  the  asylums.  In  14  counties  no  jury  has  been 
called  in  ten  years  to  try  a criminal  case ; 53  counties  have 
empty  jails,  and  38  counties  have  empty  poorhouses.” 

Local  option.  — Many  have  felt  that  a more  effective  way 
of  securing  prohibition  was  by  beginning  with  local  option ; 
that  is,  by  allowing  small  units,  such  as  the  county  or  the 
city,  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  shall  have  prohibition. 
The  argument  for  this  means  of  control  is  that  when  the 
smaller  unit  votes  out  the  saloon,-  this  presumes  a sentiment 
back  of  the  vote  that  will  insure  the  enforcement  of  the  law, 
and  does  not  attempt  to  enforce  such  a law  in  communities 
where  the  common  sentiment  is  strongly  opposed  to  the 
legislation.  In  such  communities  with  a sentiment  against 
temperance,  and  with  the  local  officers  in  sympathy  with 
that  sentiment,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  make  temperance 
legislation  effective.  The  advocates  of  local  option  are 
strongly  in  sympathy  with  temperance  legislation,  and  even 
with  ultimate  prohibition,  but  believe  that  the  better  way 
to  secure  this  end  is  through  the  extension  of  such  legislation 
by  degrees,. and  over  such  areas  as  maintain  a public  senti- 
ment that  will  enforce  the  laws. 

License.  — Many  have  advocated  high  license  as  a means 
of  regulating  the  liquor  traffic.  They  have  argued  that  we 
cannot  prohibit,  and  therefore  it  is  better  to  regulate,  this 
traffic.  This  system  has  lessened  the  number  of  saloons  in 
many  places,  and  has  been  a source  of  considerable  revenue 
to  the  local  units  of  government.  The  danger  of  this  system 

T 


I 


274  Social  Problems 

is  that  in  licensing  the  traffic  we  give  it  official  recognition,  if 
not  justification  and  sanction.  It  gives  a community  a false 
sense  of  security.  The  people  are  apt  to  feel  that  now  that 
the  traffic  is  regulated,  they  have  no  further  responsibility 
in  the  matter,  and  they  are  apt  to  be  quite  indifferent  as  to 
the  effects  of  the  traffic.  There  is  probably  nothing  that 
dulls'  the  conscience  of  the  people  of  a community  toward 
the  evils  of  intemperance  so  much  as  the  thousand  or  twelve 
hundred  dollars  that  a saloon  may  pay  into  the  coffers  of  a 
city  in  the  form  of  a license.  Many,  otherwise  in  sympathy 
with  temperance,  are  impressed  with  what  the  city  can  do 
with  the  license  money,  and  with  the  degree  to  which  it 
“ lowers  taxes.”  Such  persons  fail  utterly  to  consider  the 
added  cost  of  the  saloon,  and  the  fact  that  although  it  may 
add  to  the  revenues  directly  in  the  form  of  license  money,  it 
may  cost  the  taxpayer  many  times  this  amount  indirectly 
in  the  increased  expenses  of  the  police  force,  the  criminal 
courts,  and  in  the  upkeep  of  the  jails,  almshouses,  and  other 
institutions  for  the  products  of  the  traffic.  High  license  also 
gives  a respectability  to  the  institution  through  driving  out 
the  poorer  saloons,  and  many  go  to  the  better  kept  places  who 
would  not  go  to  the  low-down  grog  shop.  Although  high 
license  may  have  the  immediate  effect  of  bettering  conditions, 
its  ultimate  effect  is  undoubtedly  to  retard  the  movement 
looking  toward  the  elimination  of  the  traffic. 

The  dispensary  system.^^  — This  system,  sometimes  called 
the  Gothenburg  or  the  state  account  system,  was  adopted 
in  South  Carolina  in  1892.  Under  this  plan. the  liquor 
traffic  is  directly  in  the  hands  of  the  government.  The 
system  seeks  to  do  away  with  the  saloon  as  a social  gather- 
ing place.  In  South  Carolina  hquor  could  be  sold  only  by  a 
salaried  employee  of  the  government,  between  the  hours  of 
sunrise  and  sunset,  and  could*  not  be  drunk  on  the  premises 
where  sold.  It  was  sold  only  for  cash,  and  was  not  to  be  sold 
to  drunkards  or  minors.  There  was  thus  a lessened  temptation 


The  Liquor  Problem 


275 


to  increase  the  sales,  and,  there  being  no  music  or  decorations 
to  attract  the  people,  and  treating  being  forbidden,  there  was 
less  temptation  to  acquire  the  liquor  drinking  habit.  This 
system  did  not  prove  so  successful  as  its  advocates  had  hoped, 
and  to  the  temperance  people,  the  idea  of  being  a partner 
in  the  saloon  business  was  repugnant.  It  was  succeeded  by 
a local  option  law  in  1906,  under  which  about  three  fourths  of 
the  state  became  dry  territory ; and  this  in  turn  gave  way  to 
state-wide  prohibition  in  1915. 

Associations  opposing  the  liquor  traflSlc.  — A number  of 
associations  have  been  formed  in  the  last  fifty ^years,  directed 
against  the  liquor  traffic.  One  of  the  first  of  these  to  become 
an  effective  agency  was  the  Independent  Order  of  Good  Tem- 
plars, founded  in  1851,  in  New  York.  This,  as  a total 
abstinence  society,  has  since  become  an  international  order, 
having  lodges  in  all  the  principal  countries,  and  having  a 
membership  of  more  than  a half  million  people. 

The  National  W.  C.  T.  of  the  United  States  was 
organized  in  1874,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Since  that  time 
organizations  have  been  formed  in  every  state  of  the  Union, 
and  in  1883  the  World’s  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  founded  by  Frances 
E.  Willard.  This  organization  has  auxiliaries  in  more  than 
fifty  countries,  and  has  a membership  of  about  half  a million. 
It  has  had  great  influence  in  creating  public  sentiment  in 
favor  of  temperance,  and  has  been  instrumental  in  securing 
temperance  instruction  in  the  public  schools.  It  has  also 
taken  an  active  part  in  securing  antigambling  and  anti- 
cigarette laws,  and  laws  for  the  protection  of  women  and 
girls.  Perhaps  its  greatest  influence  has  been  the  instilling 
of  ideals  of  temperance  in  the  minds  of  the  young  people  of 
our  country,  thus  laying  the  foundation  for  the  temperance 
movement  which  is  now  gaining  such  headway. 

The  Prohibition  Party  was  established  in  1869  as  a national 
political  party.  It  first  came  into  prominence  at  the  election 
of  1884^  but  has  never  secured  a large  following.  In  the 


276 


Social  Problems 


1912  election,  it  polled  but  little  more  than  1 per  cent 
of  the  total  vote  cast.^^  In  some  states  this  party  has 
been  more  effective,  and  has  elected  several  members  to 
state  legislatures. 

The  Ohio  branch  of  the  Anti-Saloon  League  was  founded 
in  1893  at  Oberlin,  the  National  League  at  Washington, 
D.C.,  in  1895.  Branches  of  this  league  have  since  been  organ- 
ized in  all  the  states  and  territories.  This  association  is 
to-day  probably  the  most  aggressive  and  the  most  effective 
organization  in  the  securing  of  temperance  legislation. 
It  has  been  instrumental  in  obtaining  local  and  county 
option  laws  for  many  of  the  states,  and  is  now  working  for  a 
national  prohibition  law.  The  league  is  not  partisan,  nor 
denominational,  but  aims  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  every 
one  interested  in  temperance,  regardless  of  political  or  church 
affiliation.  It  holds  that  the  only  solution  of  the  problem  is 
“ no  saloon,”  and  is  strongly  opposed  to  the  license  system 
which  it  declares  to  be  “ vicious  in  principle,  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  purpose  of  enlightened  government,  and  in 
practice  a protection  to  a traffic  which  is  inherently  criminal 
in  its  nature.”  The  three  lines  of  activity  of  the  league  are 
agitation,  legislation,  and  law  enforcement.  It  carries 
on  a most  vigorous  campaign  of  education,  and  has  been 
instrumental  in  securing  much  of  the  most  effective  recent 
temperance  legislation.  It  formerly  stood  for  local  option  as 
the  most  effective  means  of  advancing  temperance,  but  has 
recently  come  out  for  nation-wide  prohibition. 

Substitutes  for  the  saloon.  — Many  suggestions  have  been 
made  regarding  the  securing  of  substitutes  for  the  social 
function  of  the  saloon.  The  establishing  of  clubs,  of  reading 
rooms,  of  athletic  associations,  all  give  opportunity  for  the 
social  intercourse  that  is  so  essential  in  the  life  of  the  working- 
man. Further  opportunities  are  offered  by  public  parks, 
public  baths,  and  outdoor  gymnasiums.  Substitutes  for  the 
food  and  drink  offered  in  the  saloon  present  a different 


The  Liquor  Problem 


277 


problem.  Many  lunch  rooms  and  restaurants  are  now  found 
conveniently  located  in  all  our  cities.  Temperance  drinking 
places  have  been  established  in  a number  of  centers.  Certain 
of  our  small  municipalities  throughout  the  Middle  West 
have  recently  established  coffeehouses,  where  the  working- 
man, as  well  as  others,  can  secure  a cup  of  coffee,  tea,  or  a 
glass  of  milk,  and  a sandwich  or  doughnuts,  for  a nickel. 
By  installing  such  places  as  these,  the  municipality  can  very 
materially  lessen  the  drawing  power  of  the  saloon.  Many 
manufacturers  have  recognized  this  fact,  and  have  made 
provision  for  furnishing  their  employees  good  meals  at  low 
prices.  This  has  resulted  in  improving  the  comforts  and 
the  morals  of  the  men,  and  “ often  neighboring  saloons  have 
been  driven  out  of  business.” 

The  “ Committee  of  Fifty  ” mentions  two  other  methods  of 
rivaling  the  influence  of  the  saloon.  The  first  is  the  method 
of  improving  the  outer  conditions  and  the  inner  life  of  the 
home  ” ; the  second  is  the  “ education  and  moral  enlighten- 
ment of  the  individual.”  Any  opposition  to  the  traffic  which 
overlooks  these  two  influences  can  but  fall  short  of  accom- 
plishing their  full  aim.  The  substitute  for  the  saloon  should 
be  the  home.  Before  we  can  have  the  best  home  life,  we 
must  have  improved  conditions  surrounding  the  home. 
Temperance  workers  must  cooperate  with  other  associations 
in  the  effort  to  provide  suitable  homes  for  the  working  people, 
and  to  improve  the  sanitary  conditions ; and  they  must  be 
alert  to  the  enforcement  of  the  tenement  house  laws  and  such 
laws  as  aim  to  better  the  living  conditions  of  the  people. 
They  must  also  cooperate  in  the  various  measures  to  better 
the  economic  conditions,  and  thus  raise  the  standard  of 
living  of  the  working  classes.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  whom  we 
have  previously  quoted,  says,  Intemperance  is  often  set 
forth  as  the  chief  cause  of  poverty,  and  it  undoubtedly  is 
responsible  for  a very  large  amount  of  suffering  and  want ; 
yet  a careful  study  leads  one  to  the  conclusion  that  intern- 


278 


Social  Problems 


perance  is  quite  as  often  the  result  of  poverty  as  poverty  the 
result  of  intemperance.’’ 

As  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  final  summary  of  the  report 
of  the  Committee  of  Fifty,  “ Those  forces  that  make  for  the 
development  of  personality  are,  in  the  last  analysis,  the  forces 
that  are  doing  the  most  to  overcome  the  evils  of  the  liquor 
traffic.”  Emphasis  is  here  placed  on  the  moral  equipment 
of  the  individual.  It  is  here  that  the  church  and  the  school 
are  exerting  so  great  an  influence  in  this  campaign  through  the 
molding  and  development  of  character.  Likewise,  the  mu- 
nicipal night  schools,  the  public  lecture  courses,  the  university 
extension  work,  the  educational  work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the 
free  public  libraries  and  free  reading  rooms,  are  all  factors 
working  for  the  higher  development  of  the  people,  which  not 
only  counteract  directly  the  influence  of  the  saloon,  but  also 
act  indirectly  by  strengthening  the  character  and  the  man- 
hood of  the  individual. 

The  outlook.  — We  have  considered  the  extent  of  the 
liquor  traffic  and  its  cost  to  the  individual  and  to  society. 
In  relation  to  the  individual  we  have  seen  how  it  destroys 
health,  reduces  mental  and  physical  efficiency,  and  impairs 
the  life  of -future  generations.  From  a social  standpoint, 
it  is  an  important  factor  in  crime,  insanity,  and  feeble- 
mindedness ; it  tends  to  social  disorder  and  low  standards  of 
morality,  and  causes  pauperism  and  disease. 

Will  it  be  possible  to  eliminate  a traffic  which  has  become 
so  deeply  rooted  as  this?  'At  the  present  time  there  are 
many  encouraging  signs.  We  have  referred  to  the  remark- 
able spread  of  ‘‘  dry  ’’  territory  within  the  past  few  years, 
until  now  three  fourths  of  the  area  of  the  United  States  and 
one  half  of  the  population  are  under  “dry”  laws.  The  most 
remarkable  thing  about  the  movement  at  the  present  time, 
and  the  one  which  gives  the  greatest  hope  for  its  ultimate 
success,  is  the  attitude  of  the  business  men  of  the  country  to- 
ward the  traffic.  They  are  raising  ‘the  question,  “ Does  it 


The  Liquor  Problem 


279 


pay?  ” The  resolutions  recently  passed  by  the  Pittsburgh 
board  of  trade  well  illustrate  this  newer  phase  of  the  move- 
ment. These’hardheaded,  practical  business  men  refer  to  the 
increasing  burden  of  taxation  caused  by  the  liquor  traffic,  to 
the  great  gain  morally  to  the  citizens  of  the  country  through 
its  elimination,  and  to  the  economic  loss  through  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  the  individual ; and  then  they  unqualifiedly  indorse 
the  movement  for  national  prohibition. A number  of  the 
principal  railroads,  and  of  the  large  industrial  corporations  in 
the  country,  now  demand  strict  temperance  on  the  part  of 
the  employees.  Even  the  leaders  of  organized  baseball  are 
demanding  temperance  of  their  players.  Insurance  com- 
panies are  requiring  higher  rates  from  those  engaged  in  the 
liquor  traffic.  Such  associations  as  the  Minnesota  Com- 
mercial Men’s  Association  declare  in  their  by-laws  that  they 
will  not  be  liable  for  any  indemnities  for  injuries  or  death, 
if  the  accident  happens  while  the  member  is  in  any  degree 
under  the  influence  of  intoxicating  liquors.  A stand  like  this 
enables  them  to  give  a lower  rate,  and  places  them  at  a big 
advantage  over  associations  that  do  not  make  this  discrim- 
ination. These  instances  call  attention  in  a most  practical 
way  to  the  effect  of  the  traffic. 

The  menace  of  the  liquor  traffic  to  the  efficiency  of  a 
nation  has  been  called  to  the  attention  of  the  people  as  never 
before  by  the  action  of  the  European  countries  in  the  present 
great  conflict.  No  sooner  had  the  war  broken  out  than  the 
several  countries  made  a desperate  effort  to  bring  this  traffic 
under  control.  The  Czar  issued  his  prohibition  ukase. 
France  and  Belgium  prohibited  the  use  of  absinthe.  Ger- 
many prohibited  spirits  in  military  districts  and  cautioned 
her  troops  against  the  use  of  alcoholic  drinks.  Some  of  Eng- 
land’s greatest  statesmen  declared  the  liquor  traffic  to  be 
their  country’s  greatest  foe.  Shortly  after  entering  the  war 
Italy  passed  several  measures  looking  toward  a more  com- 
plete control  of  the  traffic.  Although  it  is  too  early  to  tell 


28o 


Social  Problems 


the  results  of  all  these  restrictive  measures,  they  have  served 
in  a remarkable  way  to  call  attention  to  the  seriousness  of 
the  probleui,  and  to  the  need  of  social  action  against  the 
destructive  influence  of  the  traffic;  and  in  the  minds  of 
many  the  question  has  been  raised  as  to  why  if  the  use  of 
liquor  has  so  serious  an  influence  in  times  of  war  it  is  not 
equally  serious  in  times  of  peace. 

Booker  T.  Washington  and  other  leaders,  in  promoting  the 
interests  of  the  negro  race,  have  come  out  very  strongly  for 
temperance  as  a means  of  safeguarding  this  race.  Dr.  Wash- 
ington says  that  “strong  drink  is  one  of  the  worst  evils  that 
beset  the  negro.’^  For  a number  of  years  we  have  recognized 
the  menace  of  the  traffic  to  the  Indians,  and  have  sought 
to  protect  them  from  it  through  legislation. 

The  passage  of  the  Webb-Kenyon  Law,  prohibiting  the 
shipment  of  liquor  into  dry  territory  from  another  state, 
greatly  increases  the  effectiveness  of  temperance  legislation 
within  these  states.  The  prohibiting  of  intoxicating  liquor 
throughout  the  United  States  Navy  by  the  recent  order  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  another  indication  of  the  recog- 
nition of  the  dangers  of  the  traffic. 

A number  of  the  leading  papers  of  this  country,  such  as 
the  New  York  Tribune,  the  Chicago  Record-Herald,  and  the 
Minneapolis  Journal,  have  taken  a stand  as  “ dry  ” papers, 
and  have  refused  their  columns  to  liquor  advertisements. 

The  extension  of  suffrage  to  women  has  very  materially 
increased  the  temperance  vote  throughout  the  country,  and 
has  been  a material  influence  in  eliminating  the  saloon  from 
many  towns  and  villages. 

The  many  social  workers  in  our  cities  in  their  ministrations 
of  aid  and  relief  are  exerting  every  possible  influence  against 
the  saloon  as  one  of  the  greatest  influences  for  evil  with  which 
they  have  to  contend. 

The  various  temperance  associations  are  now  cooperating 
much  more  than  they  have  ever  done  heretofore,  and  are 


The  Liquor  Problem  281 

consequently  proving  much  more  effective  in  the  work  they 
are  doing. 

The  reports  from  the  many  cities  which  have  voted  ^‘no 
hcense,”  showing  an  increase  in  bank  deposits,  a lessened 
number  of  arrests,  and  a marked  decrease  in  the  number  in 
jails  and  workhouses,  have  convinced  many  that  the  absefice 
of  the  saloon  is  a distinct  economic,  as  well  as  social,  advantage. 

The  “ safety  first  ” and  “ industrial  efficiency  ” movements 
immediately  come  up  against  the  liquor  traffic  as  affecting 
both  safety  and  efficiency,  and  are  bringing  home  to  the 
employers  of  labor  the  facts  regarding  this  influence.  The 
Employers’  Liability  acts  which  are  now  gaining  ground 
so  rapidly  are  likewise  making  employers  recognize  the  cost 
to  their  business  of  intemperate  employees.  Many  of  the 
labor  leaders  have  taken  an  emphatic  stand  in  favor  of  tem- 
perance as  an  important  aid  in  bettering  the  conditions  for 
the  workingman. 

We  are  becoming  aroused  to  the  pernicious  influence  of 
the  saloon  in  politics,  and  recognize  that  in  self-defense  we 
must  exert  every  power  against  this  influence.  The  doubting 
public  now  has  the  encouragement  that  comes  from  the 
evidence  from  many  sections  that  temperance  legislation  can 
be  made  effective. 

The  many  investigations  now  being  made  into  all  phases 
of  the  liquor  traffic  in  its  relation  to  the  various  social 
problems ; the  scientific  research  that  is  being  conducted ; and 
the  wide  dissemination  through  the  lecture  platform,  the 
press,  the  church,  and  the  school,  of  the  information  secured, 
— all  these  agencies  are  bringing  to  the  people,  as  never 
before,  a realization  of  present  conditions.  At  the  same 
time  there  is  a growth  of  social  consciousness  and  a recogni- 
tion of  the  necessity  for,  and  the  power  of,  social  action. 
Such  a combination  of  forces  encourages  one  in  the  belief 
that  the  liquor  traffic  may,  in  the  near  future,  be  eliminated 
from  our  social  order. 


282 


Social  Problems 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  were  some  of  the  early  phases  of  the  liquor  problem? 
To  what  extent  was  liquor  used  in  the  colonies  ? 

2.  Give  a brief  survey  of  the  movement  against  intemperance. 

3.  What  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  character  of  the  later 
movements  ? 

4.  Give  some  of  the  principal  facts  in  regard  to  the  amount  of 
liquor  consumed  in  the  United  States. 

5.  What  is  our  annual  drink  bill  ? Compare  this  with  some  of 
our  other  items  of  expenditure. 

6.  What  revenues  does  the  government  receive  from  the  liquor 
traffic  ? 

7.  What  are  some  of  the  more  important  economic  phases  of 
this  problem  ? 

8.  What  is  said  regarding  the  relation  between  intemperance 
and  poverty?  Between  intemperance  and  crime?  Between  in- 
temperance and  insanity? 

9.  To  what  extent  is  disease  and  death  attributable  to  alcohol  ? 

10.  What  influence  has  alcoholism  on  heredity  ? 

11.  What  justification  is  there  for  public  control  of  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquor  ? 

12.  TeU  about  prohibition  as  a means  of  controlling  the  traffic. 
Local  option  as  a means  of  controlling  the  traffic.  License  as  a 
means  of  controlling  the  traffic.  The  dispensary  system  as  a means 
of  controlling  the  traffic. 

13.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  associations  opposing  the 
traffic  ? Tell  of  the  work  of  each. 

14.  What  suggestions  have  been  made  regarding  substitutes 
for  the  saloon? 

15.  What  are  some  of  the  encouraging  signs  regarding  the  traffic  ? 

16.  What  is  said  of  the  outlook  for  further  control  or  elimina- 
tion of  the  traffic  ? 

REFERENCES 

1.  Warner,  Social  Welfare  and  the  Liquor  Problem,  p.  25. 

2.  Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  “Temperance.” 

3.  Anti-Saloon  League  Year  Book,  1914,  p.  3. 

4.  Statistical  Abstract,  U.  S.  Census,  1914,  p.  512. 

5.  Warner,  p.  41. 

6.  United  States  Brewers'  Association  Year  Book,  1913,  p.  224, 


The  Liquor  Problem  283 

7.  Warner,  p.  101 ; Haworth,  America  in  Ferment,  p.  239 ; 
Anti-Saloon  League  Year  Book,  p.  28. 

8.  Statistical  Abstract,  1914. 

9.  Statistical  Abstract,  1914,  p.  594. 

10.  United  States  Brewers'  Association  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  137. 

11.  Statistical  Abstract,  1914,  p.  240. 

12.  Statistical  Abstract,  1914,  p.  279. 

13.  Stelzle,  American  Social  and  Religious  Conditions,  p.  75. 

14.  Statistical  Abstract,  1914,  p.  233. 

15.  Summary  of  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty,  p.  109. 

16.  Devine,  Principles  of  Relief,  p.  144. 

17.  Summary  of  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty,  p.  123. 

18.  Massachusetts,  12th  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  Labor  Sta- 
tistics, p.  3. 

19.  Massachusetts,  12th  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  Labor  Sta- 
tistics, p.  11. 

20.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  p.  402. 

21.  Warner,  American  Charities,  p.  80. 

22.  14th  Annual  Report,  Mass.  State  Board  of  Insanity. 

23.  Review  of  Reviews,  43  : 599. 

24.  Phelps,  Mortality  of  Alcohol,  p.  64. 

25.  Warner,  Social  Welfare  and  the  Liquor  Problem,  p.  70. 

26.  Committee  of  Fifty,  Billings,  “Physiological  Aspects,” 
p.  372. 

27.  Warner,  Social  Welfare  and  the  Liquor  Problem,  p.  74. 

28.  Committee  of  Fifty,  Billings,  “Physiological  Aspects,” 
p.  364. 

29.  Committee  of  Fif*ty,  Billings,  “Physiological  Aspects,” 
p.  373. 

30.  Warner,  American  Charities,  p.  76. 

31.  12th  Annual  Report,  Mass.  Bureau  of  Labor,  p.  11. 

32.  Summary  of  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty,  p.  52. 

33.  “Prohibition  in  Kansas,”  Saturday  Evening  Post,  July  11, 
1914. 

34.  Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  “Gothenburg.” 

35.  Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  “Good  Templars.” 

36.  Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  “National  W.  C.  T.  U.” 

37.  American  Year  Book,  1913,  “Presidential  Vote.” 

38.  Anti-Saloon  League  Lit.,  “The  Church  in  Action  Against 
the  Saloon,”  p.  8. 

39.  Summary  of  Report  of  the  Committe  of  Fifty,  p.  74. 

40.  Wright,  p.  323. 


284 


Social  Problems 


41.  Summary  of  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty,  p.  178. 

42.  American  Issue,  May,  1914. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Committee  of  Fifty  Report  on  “Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor 
Problem,”  “Substitutes  for  the  Saloon,”  “Liquor  Problem 
' in  its  Legislative  Aspects,”  “The  Physiological  Aspects  of  the 
Liquor  Problem,” 

“The  Liquor  Problem,”  a “Summary  of  the  Investigations  Con- 
ducted by  the  Committee  of  Fifty.” 

The  Anti-Saloon  League  Year  Book,  an  encyclopedia  of  facts  and 
figures  dealing  with  the  liquor  traffic  and  temperance  reform. 

The  Year  Booh  of  the  United  States  Brewers’  Association,  a very 
complete  reference  book  from  a “wet”  point  of  view. 

Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Ch.  XXIII. 

Johnson,  The  Federal  Government  and  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

Warner,  Social  Welfare  and  the  Liquor  Problem. 

Gordon,  The  Anti- Alcohol  Movement  in  Europe. 

Partridge,  The  Psychology  of  Intemperance. 

Barker,  The  Saloon  Problem  and  Social  Reform. 

Monahan,  A Text  Book  of  True  Temperance,  published  by  the 
United  States  Brewers’  Association,  strongly  “wet”  in  sym- 
pathy. 

Dealey,  Sociology,  Ch.  XVII. 

Literature,  American  Issue  Publishing  Co.,  Westerville,  Ohio. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


POVERTY 

I.  Changing  attitude  toward  poverty. 

II.  Pauperism  versus  poverty. 

III.  Pauperism. 

IV.  Extent  of  poverty. 

V.  Causes  of  poverty. 

1.  Physical. 

2.  Individual. 

. a.  Sickness. 
h.  Accident. 

c.  Intemperance. 

d.  Mental  incapacity. 

e.  Degeneracy. 

/.  Miscellaneous. 

3.  Social. 

a.  Low  wages. 
h.  Unemployment. 

c.  Bad  housing. 

d.  Cost  of  war. 

e.  Other  phases  of  economic  life. 
VI,  Remedies. 

VII.  Poverty  versus  wealth  concentration. 


Changing  attitude  toward  poverty.  — Poverty  is  by  no 
means  a new  problem,  nor  is  it  particularly  characteristic 
of  the  hfe  of  any  people.  It  has  existed  from  the  earliest 
times,  and  is  found  in  all  countries.  As  far  back  as  in  scrip- 
tural times  frequent  reference  is  made  to  the  poor  and  poverty 
stricken,  while  all  down  through  the  Middle  Ages  the  mendi- 
cants or  beggars  were  a considerable  element  in  every  com- 
munity. Travelers  through  Egypt,  Palestine,  Turkey, 
Spain,  and  Italy,  all  have  much  to  relate  in  regard  to  the 

28s 


286 


Social  Problems 


amount  of  destitution  and  the  great  number  of  beggars 
found  in  those  lands,  while  recent  investigations  in  our 
wealthiest  countries  have  shown  an  appalling  number  living 
in  dire  poverty. 

Within  recent  times  a very  decided  change  has  taken  place 
in  our  attitude  toward  poverty.  It  was  formerly  taken  quite 
as  a matter  of  course  that  a certain  proportion  of  the  popu- 
lation should  always  be  living  in  a state  of  abject  want,  with 
only  the  barest  necessities  of  life,  and  forced  to  resort  to  beg- 
ging in  order  merely  to  exist.  A constant  admonition  was 
to  feed  the  poor  and  little  thought  or  attention  was 
given  to  helping  them  out  of  their  condition  and,  least  of 
all,  to  keeping  others  from  falling  into  a like  condition. 
Beggars  were  looked  upon  as  just  as  inevitable  an  element 
of  the  population  as  were  slaves,  and  it  was  no  more  thought 
that  poverty  could  be  eliminated  than  it  was  thought  that 
slavery  could,  or  that  the  great  plagues  which  swept  across 
the  country  at  intervals  could  be  stamped  out. 

After  centuries  of  indifference,  of  accepting  poverty  as  a 
natural  condition,  society  began  to  study  itself,  and  found 
that  the  poverty  of  many  of  its  members  had  formed  one  of 
the  darkest  spots  in  its  history,  and  was  closely  interwoven 
with  many  of  its  other  ills.  Then  it  was  that  society  began 
to  measure,  to  analyze,  and  to  seek  for  the  causes.  After 
realizing  the  extent,  and  finding  certain  causes,  the  next 
logical  step  was  to  find  a remedy,  or,  rather,  to  find  remedies. 
Poverty  is  now  looked  upon  as  a disease  which  can  and  must 
be  eradicated  from  the  body  politic.  After  years  of  effort 
we  succeeded  in  doing  away  with  slavery.  Many  of  the 
great  diseases  which  formerly  took  such  an  enormous  toll 
in  human  life  have  been  practically  eliminated  in  the  more 
advanced  countries.  So,  too,  it  is  now  believed  that  many 
of  the  causes  of  poverty  may  be  brought  under  social  con- 
trol. Carver  says  that  ‘‘  poverty  is  as  unnecessary  as 
malaria  or  yellow  fever.’’  ‘‘The  coming  hundred  years 


Poverty  287 

should  see  poverty  practically  eradicated  from  the  American 
domain.”  ^ 

Poverty  versus  pauperism.  — In  the  first  place,  a care- 
ful distinction  must  be  made  between  poverty  and  pauper- 
ism. A person  may  be  said  to  be  living  in  poverty  when  he 
is  unable  “ to  obtain  those  necessaries  which  will  permit 
him  to  maintain  a state  of  physical  efficiency.”  A pauper 
is  a person  “ who  depends  upon  public  or  private  charity 
for  sustenance.”  ^ Poverty  is  thus  a much  broader  term 
than  pauperism.  While  a pauper  may  be  spoken  of  as  liv- 
ing in  poverty,  there  are  large  numbers  living  in  poverty  who 
are  not  paupers.  Those  living  in  poverty  include  that 
large  number  who  are  barely  able  to  make  a living,  who  are 
constantly  on  the  verge  of  distress,  and  who,  if  misfortune 
overtakes  them,  become  dependent  upon  others  for  the 
necessities  of  life.  They  are  unable  to  provide  for  them- 
selves a sufficient  amount  of  nourishing  food,  a proper  amount 
of  clothing,  or  comfortable  or  sanitary  housing  conditions, 
such  as  will  sustain  them  in  good  health  and  enable  them  to 
keep  up  a standard  of  physical  efficiency  that  will  enable 
them  to  compete  successfully  in  the  effort  to  earn  a living. 
Living  under  such  conditions  for  any  great  length  of  time 
means  a gradually  lessened  efficiency  and  inadequate  op- 
portunities for  the  children.  This  in  turn  increases  the 
burden  of  poverty  for  the  succeeding  generation. 

A person  may  live  in  poverty  and  may  even  know  all 
forms  of  destitution  and  want,  without , falling  into  the 
ranks  of  the  paupers.  It  is  only  when  he  becomes  so  help- 
less as  to  be  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  public  or  private 
relief,  or  so  far  loses  his  self-respect  as  to  be  willing  to  rely 
upon  charity,  that  we  call  him  a pauper.  This  term  fre- 
quently carries  with  it  “ a suggestion  of  weakness,  inferiority, 
and  reproach.”  ^ Pauperism  in  the  social  world  is  likened 
to  parasitism  in  the  biological  world. 

Pauperism.  — At  the  taking  of  the  last  census  there  were 


288 


Social  Problems 


approximately  eighty-four  thousand  paupers  in  almshouses  in 
the  United  States.^  This  was  an  increase  of  about  twenty- 
five  hundred  since  the  special  census  of  1903.  These  figures 
show  that  the  number  so  cared  for  is  very  large,  but  give  us 
no  adequate  conception  as  to  the  number  of  paupers  in  the 
country,  or  as  to  whether  or  not  that  number  is  increasing 
or  decreasing.  No  attempt  is  made  to  enumerate  the  num- 
ber of  paupers  not  cared  for  in  almshouses.  Furthermore, 
some  states  make  much  more  adequate  provision  for  their 
paupers  than  others.  Such  states  would  appear  to  have  a 
larger  proportion  than  those  states  with  less  adequate  provi- 
sions. The  census  figures  show  us  that  there  were  ten  times 
as  many  paupers  in  almshouses  in  New  England,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  population,  as  in  the  West  South  Central  states. 
This  proportion  is  probably  due  in  a large  measure  to  the  more 
adequate  provision  for  their  care  in  the  East.  Although  the 
census  figures  seem  to  indicate  a slight  decrease  in  the  relative 
number  of  paupers  cared  for  in  almshouses,  per  hundred  thou- 
sand of  the  population,  these  figures  give  us  no  assurance 
that  the  actual  number  of  paupers  is  decreasing,  because  they 
include  such  a small  proportion  of  the  total  number,  and  be- 
cause many  who  were  formerly  cared  for  in  almshouses,  such 
as  dependent  children,  the  insane,  feeble-minded,  and  others 
of  the  defective  classes,  are  being  constantly  removed  to  be 
cared  for  in  special  institutions  for  these  classes. 

After  a careful  analysis  of  all  the  figures  available  in  1891, 
Professor  Richard  T.  Ely  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  there 
were  more  than  three  million  paupers  in  the  United  States.^ 
On  a basis  similar  to  that  used  by  Professor  Ely,  Robert 
Hunter  says  that  “ there  is  every  indication  that  not  less 
than  four  million  persons  are  now  dependent  upon  the  pub- 
lic for  relief.”  ® This  estimate  was  based  on  1901  and  1902 
figures,  and  meant  approximately  5 per  cent  of  the  popula- 
tion. If  we  accept  the  same  proportion  to-day,  and  we  have 
no  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  materially  changed,  this  means 


Poverty 


. 289 

that  there  are  about  five  million  persons  who  are  now  de- 
pendent upon  some  form  of  public  relief.  One  of  the  most 
striking  indications  of  the  extent  of  pauperism  is  the  large 
number  of  pauper  burials.  Although  we  know  how  des- 
perately the  poor  will  struggle  “ to  give  a decent  burial  to 
their  dead,”  resorting  almost  to  any  means  in  order  to  pre- 
vent a member  of  the  family  from  that  last  disgrace,  lying 
in  a pauper’s  grave,  yet  “ one  in  every  ten  persons  who  die 
in  New  York  is  buried  at  public  expense  in  Potter’s 
Field.”  7 

The  extent  of  poverty.  — As  in  the  case  of  pauperism,  it 
is  impossible  to  give  any  exact  figures  in  regard  to  poverty. 
We  can  only  arrive  at  estimates  which,  in  turn,  are  based 
upon  special  investigations,  reports  of  relief  associations, 
and  such  figures  as  we  have  in  regard  to  wages,  unemploy- 
ment, and  other  social  conditions  which  are  indicative  of 
poverty.  Perhaps  the  most  careful  and  exhaustive  investi- 
gations that  have  ever  been  made  were  those  made  by 
Booth  in  London  and  Rountree  in  York.  Although  these 
investigations  were  carried  on  quite  independently  of  each 
other,  each  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  about  30  per 
cent  of  the  population  were  living  in  poverty.^  In  New 
York  and  some  of  our  largest  industrial  centers.  Hunter 
estimates  that  the  number  in  poverty  rarely  falls  below 
25  per  cent  of  all  the  people,  while  in  the  principal  in- 
dustrial states,  in  ordinarily  prosperous  years,  this  num- 
ber rarely  falls  below  20  per  cent.®  In  the  more  purely 
agricultural  states  and  newer  portions  of  the  country,  the 
proportion  is  considerably  less  than  this.  For  the  country 
as  a whole,  and  for  years  of  average  prosperity,  probably 
as  fair  an  estimate  as  we  can  make  is  that  about  15  per 
cent  of  all  the  people  are  living  in  poverty.^®  This  would 
make  the  number  in  the  United  States  to-day  about  fifteen 
milKon,  including  of  course  the  five  million  dependent  upon 
some  form  of  pubhc  relief. 


u 


290 


Social  Problems 


Causes  of  poverty.  — Many  different  attempts  have  been 
made  to  analyze  and  classify  the  causes  of  poverty  and 
pauperism.  In  making  such  a classification  there  is  always 
the  danger  of  a personal  bias,  — the  danger  that  one  will 
overemphasize  a particular  cause  or  group  of  causes,  and 
in  doing  this,  fail  to  give  due  weight  to  other  causes.^^  There 
are  those  who  are  inclined  to  charge  all  poverty  to  the  weak- 
ness or  incapacity  of  the  individual.  Others  would  place 
the  responsibility  for  poverty  almost  exclusively  upon  the 
bad  economic  conditions  in  which  a person  lives,  — upon 
unwholesome  environment.  Others  ascribe  poverty  largely 
to  a lack  of  training  or  preparation  for  industrial  activity; 
while  still  others  are  inclined  to  give  the  greater  importance 
to  hereditary  influences.  In  addition  to  this  danger,  a serious 
difficulty  is  encountered  in  the  classification  of  causes,  in 
that  so  many  of  the  causes  are  so  closely  interrelated,  and 
the  direct  cause  may,  in  many  cases,  be  traced  back  to  one 
or  more  indirect  causes.  For  example,  sickness  may  be 
given  as  the  cause  of  poverty,  but  this  in  turn  may  be  due 
to  insanitary  working  conditions,  bad  housing,  low  wages, 
and  consequent  inadequate  food  supply,  or  intemperance, 
or  other  forms  of  dissipation.  A given  accident  may  have 
been  due  to  purely  accidental  causes,  to  inadequate  safe- 
guards at  the  place  of  employment,  or  to  intoxication. 
Unemployment  may  be  the  given  cause,  and  this  in  turn  may 
be  traced  to  accident,  disease,  inefficiency,  or  various  other 
causes.  It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  poverty  is  both 
the  cause  and  the  effect  of  certain  conditions ; as,  for  example, 
intemperance  is  one  of  the  great  causes  of  poverty,  while 
poverty  and  the  misery  which  accompanies  it  have  great 
influence  in  turning  men  toward  drink.  Likewise,  in  regard 
to  sickness,  although  this  is  one  of  the  great  causes  of  poverty, 
^ poverty  is,  in  turn,  responsible  for  a large  amount  of  the 
sickness  in  the  country.  However,  with  these  warnings, 
and  with  full  appreciation  of  these  difficulties,  there  is  no 


Poverty 


291 


Cartoon  from  “ New  York  Sun.” 
Query;  Are  all  men  ‘‘  created  equal  ” ? 


f 


2Q2 


Social  Problems 


reason  why  we  should  not  attempt  a general  classification  of 
some  of  the  more  important  causes.  Notwithstanding  the 
complexity  of  the  problem,  there  are  certain  causes  which 
stand  out  more  or  less  conspicuously,  and  regarding  the 
importance  of  which  there  is  very  general  agreement  on  the 
part  of  the  best  authorities  on  the  question.  These  may 
roughly  be  grouped  under  the  three  general  heads,  physical, 
individual,  and  social. 

Physical^  — The  Chicago  and  Baltimore  fires,  the 
Johnstown  fiood  and  those  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi 
rivers,  the  San  Francisco  earthquake,  and  other  great 
national  disasters,  such  as  tornadoes,  tidal  waves’  and  great 
storms,  cause  great  destruction  of  property,  and  as  the  re- 
sult of  such  disasters,  many  are  thrown,  temporarily  at  least, 
into  poverty.  The  enormous  losses  in  some  of  our  great 
agricultural  products  due  to  insect  pests,  and  the  losses  due 
to  epidemics  which  have  at  various  times  destroyed  such 
large  numbers  of  domestic  animals,  all  affect  the  cost  of  our 
living.  Such  losses,  for  many  families,  would  be  sufficient 
to  crowd  them  from  a comfortable  living  to  a mere  sub- 
sistence, and  sometimes  into  destitution. 

Individual.  — Sickness  has  ever  been  one  of  the  great 
causes  of  destitution.  We  have  extended  accounts  of  the 
waves  of  destitution  and  want  that  invariably  followed  the 
Black  Death  and  other  great  epidemics  of  the  past.  It  is 
now  supposed  that  the  chronic  destitution  which  is  found  in 
some  of  the  formerly  prosperous  eastern  Mediterranean 
countries  has  been  due  to  the  gradual  spread  of  malarial 
fever  over  those  districts.^^  Within  the  past  four  or  five 
years,  we  have  been  hearing  much  of  the  hookworm  disease 
which  has  been  found  so  prevalent  throughout  some  parts 
of  the  South,  where,  in  certain  localities,  the  proportion  of 
those  affected  sometimes  runs  as  high  as  60  per  cent.^'^ 
There  is  no  question  but  that  this  disease  is  a great  source 
of  poverty  and  destitution  in  those  sections  where  it  has 


Poverty 


293 


gotten  started.  Persons  afflicted  with  it  become  weak, 
anaemic,  and  listless.  They  lose  all  ambition,  and  not  only 
their  physical,  but  also  their  mental,  health  is  undermined, 
their  industrial  efficiency  is  destroyed,  and  they  settle  back 
in  poverty  and  destitution.  We  know  that  in  the  poorer 
quarters  of  our  large  cities,  such  diseases  as  tuberculosis, 
typhoid,  and  others  are  important  causes  in  bringing  many  to 
a condition  of  poverty,  and  also  in  keeping  them  in  that 
condition. 

Of  the  three  or  four  millions  of  people  in  destitution  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  Webb  says  that  with  regard  to  at  least 
one  third  of  these,  “ the  recruiting  sergeant  who  brings 
them  in,  is  sickness.”  The  reports  of  the  many  Charity 
Organization  societies,  and  of  the  Relief  associations  in  the 
United  States,  all  show  that  sickness  is  one  of  the  most  con- 
stant causes  of  poverty.  In  a very  large  number  of  cases 
where  an  appeal  is  made  for  aid,  it  is  found  that  sickness  on 
the  part  of  the  breadwinner  was  the  principal  reason  the 
family  had  for  applying  for  assistance.  It  is  generally  esti- 
mated that  from  a fourth  to  a third  of  the  distress  which 
comes  before  the  different  charity  organizations  for  relief 
is  caused  by  sickness,  and  it  is  said  to  be  an  important  factor, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  at  least  three  fourths  of  all 
the  cases  that  come  under  the  care  of  these  societies.^® 

Practically  every  serious  accident  means  either  a temporary 
or  a permanent  lessening  of  the  industrial  efficiency  of  the 
one  injured.  He,  and  those  dependent  upon  him,  neces- 
sarily suffer  an  economic  loss.  The  income  which  he  has 
been  receiving  is  cut  off,  and  just  at  the  time  when  there  are 
the  additional  expenses  of  doctor’s  fees  and  hospital  care 
which  must  be  met.  When  we  consider  the  number  of  ac- 
cidents which  happen  each  year  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
evident  that  these  must  bear  a considerable  relation  to 
poverty.  Such  accidents  as  those  necessitating  the  ampu- 
tation of  hands  or  feet,  arms  or  legs,  or  those  that  cause 


294 


Social  Problems 


blindness,  or  paralysis,  necessarily  interfere  seriously  with 
the  earning  capacity  of  the  one  injured,  and  not  infrequently 
result  in  the  complete  loss  of  his  wage-earning  ability.  If 
the  one  injured  happens  to  be  the  breadwinner  of  the  family, 
as  is  so  frequently  the  case,  there  is  a danger  that  the  family 
may  be  thrown  into  the  destitute  class.  This  is  particularly 
likely  to  happen  if  they  have  been  living  on  or  near  the 
poverty  line. 

Undoubtedly  intemperance  has  in  the  past,  in  some  of 
the  investigations  and  estimates  that  have  been  made, 
been  given  too  much  importance  as  a cause  of  poverty. 
When  the  statement  is  made  that  “ nine  tenths  of  all  poverty 
is  due  to  drink,”  one  begins  unconsciously  to  enumerate  in 
his  mind  all  those  cases  which  have  come  to  his  notice  in 
which  intemperance  has  not  seemingly  figured  at  all.  How- 
ever, for  all  this,  intemperance  is  a very  important  cause  of 
poverty,  in  that  the  money  which  should  be  used  to  give  a 
family  the  common  necessities  of  life  is  often  used  for  drink ; 
and  for  the  want  of  these  very  necessities,  the  family  be- 
comes poverty-stricken.  Excessive  indulgence  in  liquor  also 
produces  weaknesses  and  disabilities,  and  the  tendency 
being  for  the  children  of  alcoholics  to  inherit  these  weak- 
nesses, it  is  easily  understood  how  they  follow  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  parents,  and  fall  the  more  easily  into  a life  of 
destitution  and  want.  Probably  the  most  reliable  estimate 
that  we  have,  and  the  one  most  generally  accepted  to-day, 
regarding  the  relation  between  intemperance  and  poverty 
and  pauperism,  is  that  made  by  the  Committee  of  Fifty. 
In  their  report  their  conclusion  is  that  “the  general  aver- 
age percentage  of  poverty,  due  directly  or  indirectly  to 
drink,  is  25.06,”  and  that  “ the  general  average  percentage 
of  pauperism  due  directly  and  indirectly  to  drink  is  37.05.” 

It  is  practically  impossible  to  make  any  numerical  estimate 
of  the  amount  of  poverty  or  of  pauperism  that  is  due  to 
mental  incapacity,  although  we  do  know  that  this  is  a very 


Poverty 


295 


considerable  cause.  Of  the  paupers  in  our  almshouses  a 
large  proportion  are  found  to  be  deficient  mentally,  and  of 
those  applying  for  aid  at  our  Charity  Organization  societies, 
many  are  found  below  the  general  average  of  intelligence, 
while  a still  larger  number  are  found  to  have  had  no  adequate 
training  for  industrial  life.  Mental  ability,  alertness,  keen- 
ness of  intellect,  good  judgment,  foresight,  decision,  are  all 
factors  contributing  to  anyone’s  success  in  life.  In  the  same 
way,  the  lack  of  these  makes  for  failure,  and  as  competition 
becomes  keener,  those  lacking  these  qualities  will  more  and 
more  be  crowded  from  the  poor  to  the  destitute  class. 

Professor  Marshall  of  England  speaks  of  “ the  waste  of 
wealth  ” as  one  of  the  important  causes  of  poverty. Many 
of  those  of  small  income  use  poor  judgment  in  the  use  of 
that  income.  Also,  there  are  numerous  instances  of  a woe- 
ful lack  of  foresight,  of  failure  to  make  any  adequate  pro- 
vision for  any  possible  future  emergency.  There  is  often  a 
lack  of  understanding  of  relative  values,  and  excessive  amounts 
are  not  infrequently  expended  on  food,  clothes,  amusements, 
or  business  ventures.  Not  only  is  there  lack  of  judgment  in 
the  purchase  of  supplies,  and  waste  in  the  preparation  of 
food,  but  also  the  poor  have  to  pay  an  excessive  price  because 
they  purchase  things  in  such  small*  quantities.  Another 
example  of  the  waste  of  wealth  is  the  large  amount  expended 
on  liquor  and  tobacco,  this  averaging  about  $129  per  family,^® 
an  amount  which  would  go  a long  way  towards  keeping  some 
famihes  above  the  poverty  line.  The  charity  workers  in  our 
cities,  in  making  their  rounds,  are  constantly  meeting  just 
this  situation.  Families  with  very  small  incomes  frequently 
spend  an  entirely  disproportionate  amount  in  ways  which 
contribute  little  to  the  family  welfare. 

Degeneracy  underlies  much  of  our  pauperism  and  poverty. 
A study  of  a large  number  of  the  families  appealing  for  re- 
lief within  certain  sections  of  our  country  has  shown  that  a 
good  many  of  these,  families  were  more  or  less  closely  re- 


2q6 


Social  Problems 


lated ; that  there  were  certain  families  in  which  there  seemed 
to  be  quite  a decided  tendency  for  the  various  members, 
generation  after  generation,  to  have  to  be  supported  by  some 
form  of  charity.  Investigations  concerning  the  inmates  of 
almshouses  have  invariably  shown  that  the  majority  were 
of  a decidedly  low  mentality,  and  that  many  of  them  were 
from  families  in  which  pauperism  had  been  very  common. 
Data  collected  concerning  some  twelve  thousand  persons,  in- 
mates of  the  almshouses  of  New  York,  very  conclusively 
showed  the  influence  of  heredity  as  a factor  in  perpetuating 
pauperism.^®  It  was  shown  that  a large  number  of  these 
persons  were  descendants  of  paupers,  and  also  that  large 
numbers  had  relatives,  brothers,  sisters,  aunts,  and  uncles, 
who  were  likewise  paupers.  The  conclusion  was  reached 
from  this  investigation  that  at  least  one  fourth  of  the  chil- 
dren of  poorhouse  parents  become  in  turn  a charge  upon  the 
public.  Several  noteworthy  studies  of  particular  families 
have  shown  a very  close  relation  between  degeneracy,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  pauperism,  vice,  and  crime,  on  the  other. 

In  a study  of  the  Jukes  it  was  found  that  a very  large 
proportion  of  this  family  in  each  of  flve  succeeding  gener- 
ations became  public  charges,  and  that  within  this  family 
pauperism  was  seven  'times  as  prevalent  as  in  the  population 
of  the  state  at  large.  The  degeneracy  of  this  one  family 
is  estimated  to  have  cost  the  community,  within  seventy-flve 
years,  more  than  a million  and  a quarter  dollars,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  cost  of  the  influence  of  such  a family  on  society. 

A similar  investigation  of  the  Ishmaels  in  Indiana 
shows  a very  remarkable  pauper  record  extending  back  over 
seventy  years.  The  records  of  some  flve  thousand  individuals 
have  been  traced  and  an  appalling  record  of  pauperism, 
vice,  crime,  and  disease  is  revealed.  “ They  seem  to  under- 
run  society  like  devil-grass.” 

A more  recent  study  is  that  of  the  Kallikak  family,  by 
Goddard.  This  conflrms  the  findings  of  the  two  former 


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297 


investigations  in  regard  to  the  close  relation  between  de- 
generacy and  pauperism.  All  of  these  studies  show  that 
symptoms  of  degeneracy  are  very  marked  in  particular 
families,  that  such  degeneracy  appears  over  and  over  again 
in  succeeding  generations,  and  that,  wherever  found,  it  is 
invariably  the  cause  of  a great  amount  of  poverty  and 
destitution. 

Bad  habits  are  the  cause  of  a considerable  number  falling 
into  poverty  and  want.  A person  may  begin  his  industrial 
life  with  a good  position  and  every  prospect  of  success,  but 
from  habits  of  intemperance,  or  vice,  or  shiftlessness,  fall 
from  one  position  to  another ; and  his  power  of  application 
may  become  so  weakened  through  such  habits  as  to  put 
him  completely  into  the  dependent  class. 

Among  the  other  individual  causes  of  poverty  may  be 
mentioned  desertion,  or  neglect  by  relatives,  death  or  im- 
prisonment of  the  breadwinner  in  a family,  and  old  age. 

Social  causes.  — Under  the  social  causes  of  poverty  may 
be  included  primarily  those  social  conditions  which  are 
largely  determined  by  society  rather  than  by  the  individual. 
While  we  must  not  overlook  the  responsibility  of  the  indi- 
vidual for  his  own  poverty,  yet  it  is  probably  a conservative 
estimate  that  from  50  to  80  per  cent  of  all  poverty  is  due 
more  to  economic  or  social,  than  to  individual,  causes. 
We  must  keep  in  mind,  however,  that  these  different  causes 
are  closely  interrelated,  and  that  these  social  causes  do  not 
operate  alone  “ but  often  in  connection  with  faults  of  char- 
acter or  physical  or  mental  defects  in  the  individual.” 

Low  wages  is  one  of  the  most  important  direct  causes,  and 
affects  also  nearly  all  of  the  other  causes,  both  individual  and 
social.  An  analysis  of  the  expenditures  of  a large  number  of 
families  in  New  York  City  led  to  the  conclusion  that  an  in- 
come under  $800  was  not  sufficient  to  maintain  a normal 
standard  of  life  for  the  average  family  of  five  persons ; that 
‘‘  an  income  of  $900  or  over  probably  permits  the  mainte- 


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nance  of  a normal  standard,  at  least  so  far  as  the  physical 
wants  are  concerned  ” ; and  that  “ families  having  from  $900 
to  $1000  a year  are  able  in  general  to  get  food  enough  to 
keep  body  and  soul  together,  and  clothing  enough  and  shel- 
ter enough  to  meet  the  most  urgent  demands  of  decency.”  ^4 
As  the  result  of  similar  investigations  in  the  stockyards 
district  of  Chicago,  the  investigators  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that,  in  that  district,  $800  was  the  minimum  amount 
necessary  to  support  adequately  an  average-sized  family. 
Of  course,  the  cost  of  living  will  vary  greatly  in  different 
sections  of  the  country,  and  under  varying  conditions,  but 
it  is  generally  accepted  that  at  least  in  the  industrial  cen- 
ters of  the  country,  an  income. of  from  $750  to  $1000  a year 
is  necessary  to  maintain  an  average  family  of  five  persons 
— a man,  his  wife,  and  three  children  — at  a fair  standard 
of  life ; at  such  a standard  as  will  “ maintain  the  health  and 
efficiency  of  the  family,  and  insure  it  against  physical  de- 
terioration, poverty,  and  misery.”  ^5 

Turning  from  these  figures  of  the  amount  necessary  to 
maintain  a decent  standard  of  living,  to  the  question  of 
wages,  one  finds  that  about  four  fifths  of  the  adult  male 
wage-earners  receive  less  than  $750  per  year ; while  a third 
receive  less  than  $500.  The  average  wage  of  women  is 
considerably  less,  from  three  fourths  to  four  fifths  receiving 
less  than  $500  a year.  These  figures  do  not  take  into  con- 
sideration the  loss  in  wages  due  to  unemployment,  which 
we  have  found  to  be  considerable.  With  such  a large  pro- 
portion of  our  wage-earners  receiving  less  than  the  amount 
necessary  to  maintain  a decent  standard  of  living,  it  may 
readily  be  seen  why  so  many  are  found  in  poverty,  and  why, 
in  case  of  misfortune,  they  are  forced  from  poverty  into 
destitution. 

From  our  previous  discussion  of  unemployment  it  is  quite 
evident  why  this  is  usually  ranked  as  one  of  the  two  or  three 
great  causes  of  poverty.  We  have  seen  how  unemployment 


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299 


and  irregularity  of  employment  are  not  only  direct  causes, 
but  that  indirectly  they  are  also  important  factors  in  many 
of  the  other  causes  of  poverty  and  want.  In  the  summary 
of  the  reports  of  a number  of  Charity  Organization  societies, 
it  was  estimated  that  from  20  to  30  per  cent  of  those  who 
were  dependent  asked  for  relief  because  of  lack  of  employ- 
ment or  of  unsatisfactory  employment.^® 

Bad  housing  is  both  an  effect  and  a cause  of  poverty.  The 
physical  and  moral  consequences  of  bad  housing  are  just 
coming  to  be  realized.  Of  the  dwellers  in  the  dark,  damp, 
ill- ventilated  rooms  of  the  crowded  sections  of  our  cities, 
such  diseases  as  tuberculosis,  rheumatism,  and  colds,  and 
the  typhoid  resulting  from  impure  water  and  lack  of  drainage, 
exact  an  enormous  toll  in  life  and  health.  Overcrowding 
admits  of  no  privacy.  Home  life  becomes  impossible,  when 
both  the  physical  and  moral  health  of  the  individual  are 
undermined.  The  cost  of  the  slum  in  the  increased  amount 
of  sickness  and  of  crime,  in  defectiveness,  delinquency,  and 
dependency,  means  an  addition  to  the  burden  of  all  classes ; 
and  living  under  these  poor  conditions  lowers  the  vitality 
and  efficiency  of  every  slum  dweller.  The  Superintendent 
of  the  Visiting  Nurses’  Association  of  Chicago,  says  that 
two  thirds  of  the  delinquent  children,  and  two  thirds  of 
the  physically  ill  children,  “ come  from  homes  where  dirty, 
ill- ventilated  rooms  predominate,”  and  that  of  fifty  back- 
ward children,  forty-three  “ occupied  homes  that  it  should 
have  been  the  business  of  the  state  to  see  did  not  exist.” 
The  Tenement  House  Commission  of  New  York  says  that 
‘‘  from  the  tenements  there  comes  a stream  of  sick,  helpless 
people  to  our  hospitals  and  dispensaries  — from  them  also 
comes  a host  of  paupers  and  charity  seekers.”  Bad 
housing  is  thus  seen  to  be  an  important  cause  of  poverty, 
in  the  added  burden  that  it  inflicts  upon  society,  and  also 
in  lowering  the  capacity  of  the  individual  to  care  for  himself. 

The  cost  of  past  wars  and  preparedness  for  possible  future 


300 


Social  Problems 


wars  adds  very  materially  to  the  burden  of  the  industrial 
classes.  The  weight  of  this  burden  can  only  be  realized 
when  we  stop  to  consider  that  our  army  and  navy  are  now 
costing  us  nearty  $900,000  a day,  and  our  pensions  and  our 
interest  on  the  war  debt,  about  half  as  much  more ; making 
all  together  more  than  one  and  a third  million  dollars  that 
we  are  paying  every  day  for  past  wars  and  preparation  for 
future  conflicts.  This  item  alone  absorbs  approximately 
70  per  cent  of  the  total  annual  expenditures  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  means  .an  average  annual  burden  of  about  $25  for 
each  family  of  five  persons.^® 

There  are  a great  many  phases  of  the  economic  life  of  the 
people  which  may  increase  the  pressure  toward  poverty,  or 
may  even  crowd  those  on  the  poverty  line  on  into  destitu- 
tion. In  the  periods  of  financial  and  industrial  depression, 
periods  of  “ hard  times,”  the  closing  down  of  industrial  con- 
cerns increases  the  number  in  poverty,  and  at  such  times 
there  is  always  an  increase  in  the  number  applying  for  re- 
lief in  our  large  cities.  Certain  forms  of  indirect  taxation, 
such  as  the  tariff,  when  levied  upon  the  necessities  of  life, 
fall  as  a heavier  burden,  proportionally,  upon  the, working 
class  than  upon  the  well-to-do.  The  kind  of  taxes  and  the 
method  of  taxation  always  bear  an  important  relation  to 
the  welfare  of  a community.  Methods  in  industry,  trans- 
portation charges,  and  the  utilization  of  natural  resources 
are  all  important  in  determining  the  wealth  or  poverty  of 
any  people.  Changes  in  the  demand  for  goods,  and  the 
introduction  of  new  machinery  or  of  new  processes,  or  any- 
thing which  necessitates  a readjustment  in  industry,  are 
invariably  accompanied  by  increased  hardships,  at  least 
during  the  period  of  readjustment.  The  increasing  num- 
ber of  immigrants  coming  to  our  country  each  year,  and 
particularly  in  recent  times  the  great  influx,  from  the  poorer 
sections  of  Europe,  tends  to  lower  the  standard  of  living  of 
our  wage-earners  and  makes  it  more  difficult  for  the  working- 


Poverty 


301 


man  to  secure  adequate  remuneration  for  his  labor.  The 
excessive  number  of  accidents  in  industry,  occupational 
diseases,  blind-alley  occupations,  and  the  employment  of 
women  and  children,  all  affect  the  earning  capacity  of  labor. 
Any  social  condition  or  institution  which  tends  to  lessen 
the  capacity  of  the  individual  to  provide  for  himself  must  be 
charged  to  society  as  one  of  the  causes  of  poverty. 

Remedies.  — When  we  consider  the  number  and  com- 
plexity of  the  causes  of  poverty,  it  is  evident  that  there  is 
no  one  cure-all,  or  no  one  line  of  attack  by  which  we  may 
hope  to  ehminate  this  widespread  disease  from  the  social 
body.  The  attack  must  be,  rather,  along  the  whole  line  of 
social  weaknesses.  Although  the  problem  is  so  broad  as  to 
seem  at  first  most  discouraging,  yet  it  has  an  encouraging 
feature,  in  that  as  we  attack  the  problem  of  poverty  we  are 
at  the  same  time  attacking  all  these  enumerated  causes  of 
poverty,  which  are  in  themselves  some  of  the  most  serious 
evils  in  our  present  social  organization.  The  mere  enu- 
meration of  the  causes  suggests  the  needed  remedies.  Many 
of  them  we  have  already  considered,  together  with  some  of 
the  suggested  remedies.  As  we  succeed  in  decreasing  the 
amount  of  unemployment  and  the  irregularity  of  employ- 
ment, in  extending  our  control  over  the  various  preventable 
diseases,  and  in  lessening  the  number  of  unnecessary  acci- 
dents; as  we  succeed  in  eliminating  the  liquor  traffic  with 
its  attendant  vice  and  misery,  in  lessening  the  number  of 
mentally  inefficient,  and  in  curbing  those  influences  which 
lead  toward  degeneracy;  as  we  succeed  in  eliminating  the 
bad  housing  conditions  in  some  of  our  great  cities,  with 
their  physical  and  moral  consequences,  in  gaining  a more 
equitable  and  just  system  of  taxation,  and  in  extending  the 
system  of  industrial  education,  — just  in  proportion  as  we 
succeed  in  all  these  undertakings,  may  we  hope  to  succeed 
in  lessening  poverty,  and  in  decreasing  the  number  of  de- 
pendents. Various  organizations  for  coping  with  the  prob- 


302 


Social  Problems 


lems  of  poverty,  such  as  Charity  Organization  societies, 
associations  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  and 
Associated  Charities,  have  existed  for  some  time  past  in  our 
cities.  Such  organizations  have  not  only  been  of  great 
benefit  in  relieving  the  distress  due  to  poverty,  but  have 
been  of  value  also  in  gathering  and  publishing  information  in 
regard  to  the  conditions.  They  have  lessened  the  abuses  of 
indiscriminate  giving,  and  have  assisted  many  individuals 
and  famihes  back  into  a position  of  industrial  independence. 
Large  numbers  of  dependent  children  are  being  cared  for  by 
different  children’s  associations.  Homes  are  established  for 
the  aged.  All  these  institutions,  and  many  others,  tend  to 
lessen  the  misery  of  poverty.  They  are  necessary  in  the 
present  stage  of  development,  but  our  greatest  efforts  must 
be  bent,  not  toward  relieving  the  poverty-stricken,  but  toward 
the  prevention  and  elimination  of  those  conditions  which 
make  for  poverty. 

Poverty  versus  wealth  concentration.  — Poverty  is  a 
relative  term.  We  have  used  it  to  denote  that  large  class 
who  are  just  unable  to  obtain  such  necessaries  as  will  per- 
mit them  to  maintain  a state  of  physical  efficiency,  down 
to  those  who  are  living  in  utter  destitution.  Above  this  hne 
are  found  those  large  numbers  who  are  able  to  provide  a 
comfortable  living,  and  even  to  enjoy  some  of  the  luxuries 
of  life.  At  the  upper  extreme  of  this  scale  are  found  the 
comparatively  few  families  with  their  superabundance  of 
wealth.  Many  would  claim  that  this  extreme  concentration 
of  wealth  is  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  poverty.  There  is 
no  question  but  that  it  is  at  least  a very  important  con- 
tributing cause. 

A careful  study  has  recently  been  made  in  regard  to  the 
average  wealth  of  the  families  in  Massachusetts  and  Wis- 
consin, two  of  the  states  having  the  most  complete  records 
in  regard  to  property  ownership.  Comparisons  were  made 
between  the  concentration  of  wealth  in  these  two  states 


Poverty 


303 


and  concentration  in  the  United  Kingdom,  Prussia,  and 
France.  One  of  the  most  striking  features  in  this  study  is 
that  the  curves  showing  the  degree  of  concentration  in 
Massachusetts  are  almost  identical  with  those  of  Wisconsin ; 
while  both  of  these,  in  turn, ‘show  but  very  slight  variation 
from  the  curves  which  show  the  concentration  of  wealth  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  France,  and  Prussia.  A slight  vari- 
ation is  found  in  the  chart  of  the  United  Kingdom,  showing 
a greater  concentration  there  than  in  other  countries.  In 
the  United  Kingdom,  the  poorest  65  per  cent  of  the  in- 
habitants possess  only  about  one  sixtieth  of  the  property ; 
while  one  two-hundredth  of  the  population  owns  half  of  the 
property.  In  none  of  the  countries  studied  did  the  poor- 
est 65  per  cent  control  more  than  about  one  twentieth 
of  the  property.  In  Massachusetts  and  Wisconsin,  which 
probably  typify  conditions  throughout  the  United  States, 
it  was  found  that  more  than  one  half,  almost  three  fifths, 

• of  the  property  was  possessed  by  2 per  cent,  or  one  fiftieth, 
of  the  people;  and  that  almost  one  fourth  of  the  entire 
property  was  possessed  by  one  four-hundredth  of  the  people. 
A comparison  of  the  present-day  conditions  of  wealth  with 
the  conditions  several  decades  ago  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  rich  are  growing  decidedly  richer,  and  that  the 
poor  are  “ also  gaining  in  wealth,  though  relatively  at  a 
less  rapid  pace  than  the  rich.” 

It  is  apparent  that  such  concentration  of  wealth  as  these 
figures  indicate,  such  control  over  the  resources  of  the  coun- 
try in  the  hands  of  a very  few,  may  prevent  the  wage- 
earner  from  receiving  a fair  return  for  his  labor.  A monop- 
olistic control  of  any  natural  resource,  or  of  the  capital  with 
which  further  wealth  is  produced,  may,  and  invariably  does, 
result  in  an  excessive  share  of  income  going  to  property 
rather  than  to  services.  Thus,  inequality  of  wealth  is  not 
only  an  accompanying  feature  of  poverty,  but,  through 
inequahty  in  the  control  of  the  means  of  production,  may 


304 


Social  Problems 


also  be  a very  important  factor  in  preventing  the  wage- 
earner  from  getting  his  fair  share  in  distribution,  and  thus 
in  crowding  him  down  into  poverty. 

QUESTIONS 

r 1.  What  changes  are  taking  place  in  our  attitude  towards 
poverty  ? 

2.  Distinguish  between  poverty  and  pauperism. 

3.  What  is  said  regarding  the  extent  of  pauperism  in  the  United 
States  ? 

4.  What  estimates  are  made  regarding  the  number  of  poor? 
Upon  what  are  these  estimates  based  ? 

5.  Classify  the  causes  of  poverty. 

6.  What  are  some  of  the  physical  causes  of  poverty  ? 

7.  What  is  said  regarding  sickness  as  a cause  of  poverty? 
Accidents?  Intemperance?  Mental  incapacity?  Degeneracy? 
Mention  other  individual  causes  of  poverty. 

8.  What  is  said  regarding  low  wages  and  poverty  ? Give  some 
of  the  principal  facts  regarding  low  wages  in  the  United  States. 

9.  In  what  ways  may  unemployment  be  said  to  be  a cause  of 
poverty  ? 

10.  What  relation  has  bad  housing  to  poverty  ? 

11.  What  is  said  about  the  cost  of  war? 

12.  Mention  other  phases  of  the  economic  life  which  may  in- 
crease the  pressure  towards  poverty. 

13.  How  must  we  attack  the  problem  of  poverty?  What  are 
some  of  the  principal  remedies  suggested  ? 

14.  What  is  said  regarding  wealth  concentration  in  the  United 
States  ? 

REFERENCES 

1.  King,  Wealth  and  Income  of  the  People  of  the  United  States, 
p.  254. 

Carver,  Essays  in  Social  Justice,  p.  349. 

2.  Hunter,  Poverty,  p.  5. 

3.  Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives  and  Delinquents,  p.  10. 

4.  Statistical  Abstract,  U.  S.  Census,  p.  56. 

5.  North  American  Review,  “Pauperism  in  the  United  States,” 
April,  1891. 

6.  Hunter,  p.  21. 

7.  Hunter,  p.  25. 


Poverty 


305 


8.  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  143. 

9.  Hunter,  pp.  27  and  60. 

10.  EUwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  p.  285. 

11.  Webb,  Prevention  of  Destitution,  p.  9. 

12.  Devine,  Principles  of  Relief,  Part  IV. 

13.  Webb,  p.  15. 

14.  International  Year  Booh,  1914,  “Hook  Worm.” 

15.  Webb,  p.  16. 

16.  Devine,  Misery  and  its  Causes,  p.  54. 

17.  “Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Problem,”  Committee 
of  Fifty,  pp.  96  and  120. 

18.  Marshall,  Economics,  Vol.  I,  p.  786. 

19.  Haworth,  America  in  Ferment,  p.  241. 

20.  Warner,  American  Charities,  pp.  107-8. 

21.  Warner,  p.  108. 

22.  Warner,  p.  111. 

23.  EUwood,  p.  292. 

24.  Chapin,  Standard  of  Living  in  New  York  City,  p.  246. 

25.  Nearing,  Income,  pp.  175-6. 

26.  Warner,  p.  49. 

27.  American  Unitarian  Association,  Bulletin  13. 

28.  Devine,  Principles  of  Relief,  p.  64. 

29.  Statistical  Abstract,  1914,  p.  634. 

30.  King. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Warner,  American  Charities,  Part  I. 

EUwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  Ch.  XIII. 
HoUander,  The  Abolition  of  Poverty. 

Blackmar  and  Gillin,  Outlines  of  Sociology,  Book  V,  Ch.  II.  ^ 
Hunter,  Poverty,  Chs.  I,  II,  and  III. 

Cooley,  Social  Organization,  Ch.  XXVI. 

Webb,  The  Prevention  of  Destitution. 

Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  Chs.  XVII,  XVIII,  and  XX. 
Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives  and  Delinquents,  Part  II. 

Devine,  Principles  of  Relief. 

Devine,  Misery  and  Its  Causes. 

Henderson,  Modern  Methods  of  Charity,  Ch.  VIII. 

Gide,  Political  Economy,  Book  III,  Part  II,  Ch.  V. 

Seligman,  Principles  of  Economics,  Ch.  XXXIV. 

Smith,  Social  Pathology,  pp.  50-130. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  Ch.  V. 


X 


3o6 


Social  Prohlems 


Devine,  Social  Forces,  Chs.  X,  XI,  and  XVII. 

Jordan,  War  and  Waste,  an  account  of  the  enormous  burden  of 
militarism. 

Carver,  Essays  in  Social  Justice,  Chs.  XIV  and  XV. 

Dugdale,  The  Jukes. 

Conyngton,  How  to  help. 

Parmelee,  Poverty  and  Social  Progress. 

On  Concentration  of  Wealth 

Cooley,  Social  Organization,  Chs.  XXIII  and  XXIV  on  the  “Ascend- 
ancy of  a Capitalist  Class.” 

King,  The  Wealth  and  Income  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  the 
most  complete  recent  work  on  this  subject. 

Nearing,  Income,  an  examination  of  the  returns  for  services  ren- 
dered, and  from  property  owned,  in  the  United  States ; an 
analysis  of  wages,  and  of  the  returns  to  capital. 

Van  Hise,  Concentration  and  Contiwl,  contains  a great  many  facts 
and  illustrations  of  concentration  and  suggests  remedies. 

Report,  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  contains  much  in- 
formation regarding  wages  and  wealth  concentration.  Causes 
of  the  industrial  unrest  are  mentioned  and.  recommendations 
made. 


CHAPTER  XV 


CONSERVATION  OF  NATURAL  RESOURCES 

I.  Forests. 

1.  Depletion  of  forests. 

2.  Conservation  in  Germany. 

3.  Legislation  for  conservation. 

4.  Administration  of  our  national  forests. 

5.  Wastes  that  may  be  eliminated. 

6.  National  versus  state  control  of  the  forests. 

II.  Water. 

1.  Water  supply. 

2.  Water  power. 

3.  Navigation. 

4.  Irrigation. 

III.  Minerals. 

1.  Coal. 

2.  Peat. 

3.  Petroleum. 

4.  Natural  gas. 

T5.  Metals. 

IV.  Land. 

1.  Carelessness  in  the  granting  of  public  lands. 

2.  Farm  lands. 

3.  Mechanical  erosion  of  the  soil. 

4.  Loss  of  essential  elements  of  the  soil. 

5.  Drainage  of  marsh  lands. 


The  United  States,  as  compared  with  most  of  the  other 
great  nations  of  the  world,  is  a comparatively  new  nation. 
The  more  energetic  and  the  more  venturesome  of  the  older 
nations  came  here  not  only  to  make  a living,  but  to  make  a 
good  living.  They  found  here  the  greatest  undeveloped 
resources  that  have  ever  been  opened  up  before  any  people. 
Here  were  fertile  farmlands,  great  areas  covered  with  rich 

307 


3o8 


Social  Problems 


timber,  and  unbounded  mineral  wealth,  all  directly  available 
to  the  early  pioneer.  With  such  unlimited  resources  so  freely 
open  to  all  who  came,  is  it  any  wonder  that  our  people  be- 
came engaged  in  the  mad  scramble  of  exploitation ! With 
such  possibilities  of  securing  enormous  fortunes,  the  thought 
was  not  only  to  get  rich,  but  to  get  rich  quick.”  In  the 
haste  to  accumulate  wealth,  but  little  regard  was  given  to 
the  needs  of  future  generations,  and,  as  a result,  the  world 
has  probably  never  seen  such  a reckless  waste  of  natural 
resources  as  has  taken  place  within  the  United  States  during 
the  past  century. 

Forests.  — Depletion  of  forests.  — Of  the  total  area  of 
the  United  States,  about  45  per  cent,  or  nearly  one  half, 
was  originally  covered  with  forest ; ^ a forest  “ which  for 
extent  and  value  was  not  equaled  by  that  of  any  other 
civilized  nation.”  Such  valuable  timber  as  this  afforded  a 
rare  field  for  exploitation.  In  the  cutting  of  the  timber, 
the  few  best  trees  were  selected  and  the  rest  destroyed.  Of 
that  cut,  much  was  wasted.  No  consideration  was  given 
to  preserving  the  young  trees,  or  to  utilizing  more  than  the 
best  portion  of  the  tree  when  cut.  In  the  desire  to^  obtain 
tillable  land,  the  only  thought  was  to  get  rid  of  the  trees, 
and  consequently  timber  of  enormous  value  was  burned,  as 
the  quickest  way  to  clear  the  land.  We  have  also  per- 
mitted vast  areas  to  be  destroyed  by  forest  fires. 

As  a result  of  this  indifference  toward  protecting  the 
forests,  our  total  forest  area  is  only  about  65  per  cent  of 
what  it  formerly  was.  This  means  that'  at  the  present 
time  about  29  per  cent,  or  a httle  more  than  one  quarter, 
of  our  total  area  is  forest  region.^  Of  this  remaining 
area,  however,  portions  have  been  burned  over,  much  of 
the  best  timber  has  been  cut,  and  much  of  that  remaining 
is  inaccessible,  so  that  it  is  estimated  that  in  the  brief 
century  and  a quarter  that  the  nation  has  existed  “ approxi- 
mately one  half  of  the  value  of  our  forests  has  gone.”  ^ 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  309 

Conservation  in  Germany.  — That  our  forests  will  soon  be 
depleted  unless  measures  are  taken  looking  toward  their 
preservation,  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  at  the  present  we  are 
cutting  our  timber  more  than  three  times  as  fast  as  it  is  pro- 
duced.^ At  this  rate,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  value  of  our 
timber  will  very  soon  be  abnormally  high.  Germany  passed 
through  much  the  same  experience  as  the  United  States  in 
the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  but  did  not  reach  such 
extremes  in  exploitation,  and  early  became  aroused  to  the 
necessity  of  regulating  her  forests.  As  the  result  of  scientific 
regulation,  it  is  estimated  that  whereas  her  forest  area  is  only 
about  one  fifteenth  of  that  of  the  United  States,  her  forests 
contain  more  than  one  fifth  as  much  standing  timber  as  does 
our  forest  area.^  The  present  growth  of  American  forests 
is  about  twelve  cubic  feet  of  wood  annually  per  acre.^  Ger- 
many, with  no  greater  natural  advantages  for  producing  tim- 
ber, produces  a little  more  than  four  times  as  much  as  this. 
This  is  because  of  the  difference  in  the  ways  that  the  forests 
are  managed. 

It  is  not  for  the  timber  alone  that  we  need  more  careful 
administration  of  our  forests.  They  are  a most  important 
factor  in  the  regulating  of  our  water  supply,  where  great 
amounts  are  used  for  irrigating  purposes  throughout  the 
West,  as  well  as  in  the  checking  of  waste  through  excessive 
floods.  It  is  said  that  the  national  forests  “ protect  the  head- 
waters of  every  important  western  river.”  The  forest 
areas  also,  for  a part  of  each  year,  support  one  half  of  the 
sheep,  and  nearly  one  tenth  of  the  cattle,  of  the  western 
range.® 

Legislation  for  conservation.  — It  is  only  within  the  past 
few  years  that  we  have  come  to  a realization  of  the  enormous 
wastes  that  have  been  taking  place.  The  first  legislation 
looking  toward  the  conservation  of  our  national  forests  was 
passed  by  Congress  in  ISOU^  This  law  gave  the  president 
of  the  United  States  the  right  to  set  apart  any  public  land 


310 


Social  Problems 


bearing  forests,  as  forest  reservations.  Since  that  time  va- 
rious areas  have  been  withdrawn  by  successive  presidents, 
until  now  the  national  forests  contain  about  one  fifth  of 
the  standing  timber  of  the  United  States.®  Nearly  three 
fourths  of  the  national  forests  are  within  the  Pacific  states, 
and  about  seven  eighths  in  the  Pacific  and  Rocky  Moun- 
tain states.  A Bureau  of  Forestry  was  established  in  the 
United  States  in  1897.  Gifford  Pinchot  was  appointed  chief 
of  this  bureau  in  1898,  and  continued  in  this  position  until 
1910.  He  has,  throughout,  been  one  of  the  leaders  in  this 
movement  toward  conservation.  Our  forest  service  seeks, 
as  expressed  by  the  Chief  Forester,  the  use  of  present  re- 
sources; permanency  of  these  resources;  and  greater  and 
more  valuable  resources  for  the  future.® 

Administration  of  our  national  forests.  — The  annual 
cost  of  administering  our  national  forests  is  about  $3,000,000. 
The  amount  is  expended  for  the  protection  of.  timberland 
as  valuable  public  property,  for  the  increased  yields  of  water, 
wood,  and  forage,  and  for  the  permanent  improvement  of 
the  forests.  Timber  is  protected  primarily  against  fire  by 
a field  force  of  2500  men,  or  an  average  of  one  man  to  ninety- 
four  square  miles.  The  land  is  protected  against  fire  losses  ^ 
and  overgrazing.  The  fire  often  entirely  destroys  the  soil, 
and  overgrazing  reduces  the  production  of  forage  and  timber.® 

With  a yearly  expenditure  of  less  than  three  cents  per  acre 
the  following  results  were  secured  by  the  forestry  bureau : ® 

(1)  A very  material  reduction  in  the  fire  loss  through 
organized  protection  against  fire. 

(2)  The  harvesting  of  about  500,000,000  board  feet  of 
timber  “ under  government  supervision,  by  methods  which 
not  only  insure  a renewal  of  the  timber  crop,  but  also  lessen 
the  fire  hazard,  and  improve  the  remaining  stand. 

(3)  Additional  reforestration  of  denuded  land  of  some 
30,000  acres  annually.® 

(4)  Water  conservation  throughout  the  mountain  regions 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  31 1 

of  the  west,  including  the  protection  of  the  water  supply  of 
many  cities  and  towns. 

(5)  Better  utilization  of  the  forage  crop  through  better 
methods  of  range  management.  Nearly  1,500,000  cattle 
and  horses,  and  7,500,000  sheep  and  goats,  use  the  range 
annually  under  a carefully  devised  system  which  prevents 
overgrazing  and  other  wasteful  methods. 

At  the  present  time,  the  forestry  service  is  opening  up  new 
systems  of  roads,  trails,  and  bridges,  is  clearing  fire  lines 
and  building  lookout  towers,  is  establishing  ranger  stations 
and  connecting  the  same  by  telephones.  Through  the 
extension  of  this  work  and  with  more  men  for  patrol,  it  is 
believed  that  the  fire  loss  may  be  very  materially  lessened, 
and  that  we  may  have  a much  fuller  utilization  of  the  grow- 
ing timber,  forage,  and  stream-flow  of  our  forest  areas. 

Wastes  that  may  be  eliminated}^  — In  addition  to  the  in- 
crease in  the  product  through  more  careful  management,  it 
is  possible  to  eliminate  much  of  the  waste.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  loss  by  careless  cutting  is  not  less  than  25  per 
cent.  This  comes  through  the  cutting  of  immature  trees, 
the  leaving  of  high  stumps,  the  careless  destruction  of 
young  trees,  carelessness  in  felhng  the  trees  whereby  the 
tree  is  often  shattered,  through  reckless  “ driving  ’’  when  many 
trees  are  lost,  and  by  failure  to  utilize  all  of  the  usable  parts 
of  the  trees  which  have  been  blown  down. 

Another  great  waste  that  may  be  eliminated  comes  in 
milling  and  manufacturing.  It  is  estimated  that  there  is 
a total  loss  from  all  sources  in  the  mill  of  about  49  per 
cent  of  the  entire  volume  of  the  logs.  This  results  in  a 
large  amount  of  material  being  thrown  into  the  waste  heap. 
As  an  example  of  the  unnecessary  loss,  it  is  calculated  that 
if  the  thin  band  saws  should  be  used  instead  of  the  heavy 
gang  saws,  this  “ substitution  alone  would  increase  the 
lumber  from  the  logs  now  cut  by  2,250,000,000  board  feet, 
all  of  which  now  goes  into  sawdust.’’ 


312 


Social  Problems 


In  securing  tar,  pitch,  and  turpentine,  from  the  southern 
forests,  the  trees  are  hacked  several  inches  deep.  This 
greatly  weakens  the  trees,  and  after  a few  years  they  fall. 
Through  more  careful  methods,  the  yield  cannot  only  be 
increased  by  about  30  per  cent,  but  the  life  of  the  tree, 
instead  of  being  three  or  four  years,  is  increased  to  fifteen 
or ' twenty  years. 

Methods  have  been  discovered  by  which  wood  is  made 
less  susceptible  to  destruction  by  decay,  insects,  or  fire.  If 
this  preservative  treatment  were  applied  to  all  merchant- 
able timber,  there  would  be  a saving  of  about  12  per 
cent  of  the  timber  used.  This  treatment  would  not  only 
save  the  timber,  but  would  also  lessen  the  amount  of  con- 
structive work  necessary.  The  cost  of  the  work  in  main- 
taining wood  structures,  as  a result  of  the  use  of  this  pre- 
servative treatment,  would  be  lessened  about  $2,000,000 
a year. 

In  the  manufacturing  of  wood  products,  an  enormous 
amount  of  refuse,  such  as  sawdust,  shavings,  slabs,  barks, 
and  trimmings  goes  to  waste.  In  Germany,  such  material 
as  this  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  various  chemical  prod- 
ucts, such  as  acetic  acid  and  wood  alcohol.  It  is  estimated  ^ 
that  36,500,000  gallons  of  turpentine,  or  more  than  is  at 
present  produced  in  the  United  States,  might  be  produced 
from  the  waste  parts  of  the  southern  pine,  the  stumps,  slabs, 
and  sawdust.  We  are  hearing  much  about  exhausting  the 
supply  of  wood  pulp  in  the  making  of  paper,  yet  more  than 
five  and  a half  times  as  much  as  is  used,  is  wasted  through 
• not  utilizing  the  tops  and  the  slabs  of  the  various  soft  woods 
that  might  be  made  into  pulp. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  loss  to  our  timber  has  been  through 
forest  fires.  The  losses  by  fire  have  been  about  equal  to 
the  timber  cut.  An  investigation  of  some  twenty-five  fires 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1907  showed  that  about  one 
fourth  were  started  by  locomotives,  one  fourth  by  campers, 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  313 

one  sixth  by  lightning,  and  the  rest  in  various  ways.  The 
loss  by  fire  has  varied  greatly  from  year  to  year.  Some 
years  there  are  great  forest  fires  when  millions  of  dollars’ 
worth  of  property  are  destroyed  by  a single  fire. 

From  1880  to  1896,  the  average  annual  loss  from  fire  in 
standing  timber  was  about  $50,000,000  and  in  the  cost  of 
reforesting,  about  $50,000,000.  In  other  words,  what  we 
lost  annually  for  a number  of  years,  was  about  a hundred  mil- 
lion dollars.  The  annual  loss  of  life  has  been  about  fifty. 
It  is  estimated  that  these  fires  might  have  been  prevented 
by  an  expenditure  of  one  fifth  of  the  loss.  In  Prussia, 
with  her  splendid  system  of  fire  patrol,  the  average  area 
annually  burned  over  is  only  .02  per  cent  of  the  total  area. 

We  are  now  beginning  to  attempt  the  control  of  forest 
fires.  About  one  half  of  the  states  have  organized  forest 
fire  protective  systems,  and  a number  of  the  states  have 
passed  legislation  requiring  greater  care  on  the  part  of  the 
railroads,  campers,  and  hunters,  providing  for  the  establish- 
ment of  fire  lanes  and  fire  patrols,  for  the  burning  of  slashings, 
and,  in  other  ways,  have  attempted  to  prevent  fire  losses. 
In  these  ways,  within  the  national  reserves  we  have  ap- 
proached the  percentage  of  loss  that  is  found  in  Germany, 
but  less  than  1 per  cent  of  the  privately  owned  forests  have 
any  efficient  system  of  fire  protection. 

Other  enormous  losses  result  from  great  areas  of  cut-over 
and  burned-over  land  being  left  idle,  and  from  the  pests  of  in- 
sects which  often  destroy  extensive  forest  areas.  The  re- 
port of  the  United  States  Forest  Service  says:  Under  right 

management,  our  forests  will  yield  over  four  times  as  much 
as  at  present.  We  can  reduce  wastes  in  the  woods  and  in 
the  mill  at  least  one  third.  Preservative  treatment  will 
reduce  by  one  fifth  the  quantity  of  timber  lost  in  the  water 
and  in  the  ground.  We  can  practically  stop  forest  fires  at 
a total  yearly  cost  of  one  fifth  the  value  of  the  standing 
timber  burned  each  year.  We  shall  suffer  for  timber  to 


314 


Social  Problems 


meet  our  needs  until  our  forests  have  had  time  to  grow  again, 
but,  if  we  act  vigorously  and  at  once,  we  shall  escape  per- 
manent timber  scarcity/’ 

National  versus  state  control.  — Naturally,  the  first  attempts 
at  national  regulation  met  with  serious  opposition,  particu- 
larly from  those  who  were  making  enormous  gains  through 
exploitation.  Recently  the  struggle  has  rather  centered  in 
the  question  of  ‘‘  State  vs.  National  ” control.  The  leaders 
in  the  movement  for  a complete  system  of  control  have 
almost  invariably  been  in  favor  of  Federal  control,  while 
those  who  have  had  the  welfare  of  the  special  interests  first 
in  mind  have  quite  as  invariably  favored  turning  the  national 
forests  over  to  the  states.®  A number  of  the  states,  anxious 
for  quick  development,  have  been  wanting  to  have  this 
control  exclusively  within  their  own  hands,  but,  judging 
from  our  experience  within  the  last  few  years,  there  seems 
to  be  justification  for  the  statement  made  by  our  Chief  For- 
ester, ‘‘  Once  public  ownership  is  surrendered,  the  three 
great  resources  of  the  forests  — timber,  water,  and  forage 
— are  readily  monopolized  for  private  advantage.” 

Among  the  reasons  why  the  national  forests  should  not 
be  turned  over  to  the  states  are  the  following  : it  would  en- 
tail the  creation  of  many  forest  services  instead  of  one ; but 
few  of  the  states  have  adequate  machinery  for  getting  and 
retaining,  regardless  of  political  considerations,  efficient  men 
for  the  work ; the  forests,  the  streams,  and  the  range  do  not 
stop  at  state  lines,  but  are  a national  resource  and  affect 
the  prosperity  not  merely  of  a section,  but  of  the  whole 
country.®  When  we  consider  the  enormous  values  tied  up 
in  our  forests,  the  national  interest  in  the  future  timber  sup- 
ply, the  importance  of  vast  quantities  of  forage,  the  twelve 
million  horse-power  of  undeveloped  water  power  through- 
out these  areas,  the  protection  of  the  navigable  rivers  and 
of  the  great  amount  of  water  which  is  and  may  be  used  for 
irrigation,  — when  we  consider  all  these  items,  we  begin  to 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  315 

realize  the  importance  of  a wise,  national  control  for  our 
forest  areas. 

The  various  state  forests  of  Europe  have  been  scientifically 
managed  for  some  years  past,  and  are  now  being  kept  not 
only  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation,  but  also  in  many 
cases  are  yielding  to  their  respective  state  governments  a 
net  annual  revenue  of  from  a dollar  and  a half  to  four  dollars 
and  a half  per  acre.  This  is  in  addition  to  the  cost  of  keeping 
up  a splendid  system  of  roadways  through  the  forest  areas. 
The  Prussian  government  in  1914  realized  from  its  6,000,000 
acres  of  state  forests  a net  return  of  about  $9,000,000.  The 
forests  furnished  employment  for  some  150,000  men  and 
women,  and,  although  yielding  this  large  revenue,  their  con- 
dition was  not  impaired,  but  their  value  has  steadily  in- 
creased. A large  proportion  of  this  land  was  mountainous 
or  rocky,  and  would  have  been  quite  unfit  for  ‘ agriculture. 

Besides  furnishing  the  material  for  various  industries,  and 
supporting  a large  population,  these  areas  yield  many  in- 
direct benefits,  such  as  beauty  of  scenery,  improvement  of 
climate,  pleasure  resorts  for  the  people,  supply  of  water  in 
streams,  and  covert  for  the  game.’’ 

Water.  — The  conservation  of  water  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  from  the  standpoint  of  the  water  supply,  the 
water  power,  navigation,  irrigation,  the  prevention  of  ex- 
cessive floods,  and  the  checking  of  soil  erosion. 

Water  supply.  — The  first  of  these  is  of  much  importance, 
although  the  value  is  not  often  reckoned  in  dollars  and 
cents.  This  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  average  daily 
amount  pf  water  used  for  each  person  varies  all  the  way  from 
one  hundred  and  three  gallons  in  New  York  City,  to  two 
hundred  and  ten  gallons  in  Philadelphia.  Some  of  our 
greatest  epidemics,  particularly  those  of  typhoid  fever,  have 
been  caused  by  an  impure  water  supply.  With  the  rapid 
growth  of  our  city  population,  one  of  the  greatest  municipal 
problems  has  been  that  of  securing  an  adequate  supply  of 


3i6 


Social  Problems 


pure  water.  Some  of  the  boldest  engineering  achievements 
have  been  the  constructing  of  great  aqueducts  for  carrying 
water  into  the  cities  from  the  mountain  or  lake  regions  miles 
away.  One  of  the  most  notable  of  these  is  the  one  over 
two  hundred  miles  long,  recently  completed  at  Los  Angeles, 
at  a cost  of  some  $24,000,000,  and  designed  to  bring  to  the 
city  daily  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  million  gallons  of  water. 
Huge  filtration  plants  have  been  built  by  a number  of  our 
large  cities,  until  now  it  is  estimated  that  about  one  seventh 
of  our  population  is  supplied  with  filtered  water.^^ 

Water  power.  With  the  development  of  the  transmission 
of  power,  the  water  power  of  our  streams  becomes  of  increasing 
importance.  From  many  of  the  important  falls  power  is  now 
being  transmitted  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  miles. 
As  we  have  seen,  we  are  now  utilizing  some  six  million  horse- 
power in  this  country  which  is  derived  from  our  rivers,  and  it  is 
estimated  that  if  we  were  to  use  the  rest  of  the  available  water, 
we  would  have  from  seven  to  ten  times  the  amount  now  pro- 
duced. One  of  the  most  remarkable  recent  achievements  was 
the  damming  of  the  Mississippi  River  at  Keokuk,  Iowa.  The 
plant  located  here  supplies  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand horse-power,  and  provision  is  made  for  a subsequent 
increase  to  about  double  this  amount.  This  power  is  trans- 
mitted to  neighboring  towns,  including  St.  Louis,  a hundred 
and  forty  miles  distant. With  the  diminishing  supply 
of  coal,  water  power  is  becoming  of  increasing  importance. 
Many  of  our  railroads  are  now  using  electrical  power,  and  our 
street  railways  are  almost  exclusively  electric.  An  increas- 
ingly large  amount  of  this  electrical  energy  is  produced  from 
the  water  power.  One  of  the  problems  of  the  present  time  is 
the  developing  of  a system  of  reservoirs  throughout  the 
country  in  order  to  conserve  the  water  power.  The  utili- 
zation of  such  power  would  result  in  a saving  over  the  use  of 
steam,  of  some  $30,000,000  per.year.^® 

The  great  possibilities  in  the  control  of  the  water  power 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  317 

have  been  recognized  by  our  capitalists,  and  many  of  these 
water  sites  have  been  bought  up  for  speculative  purposes. 
The  concentration  of  control  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
65  per  cent  of  all  the  developed  water  power  in  the  United 
States  is  now  controlled  by  ten  groups  of  power  interests.^^ 
This  increase  in  concentration,  of  control  and  the  serious 
menace  to  the  American  people  from  such  control  led 
to  the  following  resolutions  of  the  Fifth  National  Con- 
servation Association  : “We  recognize  the  firm  and  effec- 
tive control  of  water  power  corporations  as  a pressing 
and  immediate  necessity  urgently  required  in  the  public 
interest ; we  recognize  that  there  is  no  restraint  so  complete, 
effective,  and  permanent  as  that  which  comes  from  firmly 
retained  ownership  of  the  power  site ; therefore  it  is  the 
solemn  judgment  of  the  Fifth  National  Conservation  Con- 
gress that  hereafter  no  water  power  now  owned  or  controlled 
by  the  public,  should  be  sold,  granted  or  given  away  in  per- 
petuity, or  in  any  way  removed  from  the  public  ownership, 
which  alone  can  give  a sound  basis  of  assured  and  permanent 
control  in  the  interests  of  the  people.’’ 

The  reasons  for  public  control  are  thus  summarized  by 
President  Van  Hise.^*  Public  control  is  necessary  to  secure 
reasonable  charges,  the  full  development  of  the  water  power, 
and  public  safety  through  the  control  of  dam  construction ; 
and  it  will  guard  against  the  terrible  loss  of  life  and  property 
which  has  resulted  from  the  breaking  of  some  of  the  great 
dams. 

Navigation.  — There  are  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  rivers 
in  the  United  States  which  are  used  for  commercial  purposes. 
These  furnish  about  twenty-six  thousand  four  hundred  miles 
of  navigable  water.  Only  about  a fifth  of  this  distance,  how- 
ever, has  a navigable  depth  of  six  feet,  or  more,  and  the 
Mississippi  system  alone  furnishes  about  two  thousand  five 
hundred  miles  of  this.  About  four  thousand  five  hundred 
miles  of  canals  have  been  constructed,  but  more  than 


3i8 


Social  Problems 


half  of  this  mileage  has  been  abandoned. In  the  early 
part  of  the  last  century,  much  attention  was  given  to  canal 
construction.  Later,  the  remarkable  development  of  the 
railroads  rather  supplanted  the  interest  in  canals.  At 
present,  interest  is  being  renewed  in  inland  water  transpor- 
tation, and  many  extensive  projects  are  now  under  way. 
Some  of  the  most  important  of  these  are  the  deepening  of 
the  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Missouri 
rivers,  the  enlarging  of  the  New  York  state  barge  canal, 
the  canalization  of  the  Columbia  River  from  its  mouth  to 
Lewiston,  Idaho,  a distance  of  five  hundred  miles,  and  the 
intracostal  waterways  from  Maine  to  Florida.^® 

The  advantages  resulting  from  the  development  of  the 
waterways,  as  summarized  by  President  Van  Hise,  are : 

(1)  The  freight  rates  will  be  reduced  for  a large  part  of 
our  trafiic. 

(2)  The  congestion  of  the  railroads  will  be  relieved. 

(3)  The  storage  of  the  storm  waters  in  reservoirs  will 
make  the  water  in  streams  less  impure. 

(4)  There  will  be  an  immense  reduction  in  flood  damages. 

(5)  There  will  be  a reduction  in  the  denudation  of  the 
land. 

(6)  Large  areas  of  land  now  flooded  and  made  swamps  and 
marshes  will  be  reclaimed. 

(7)  The  storing  of  the  storm  waters  will  greatly  increase 
the  available  water  power 

An  estimate  is  made  by  McGee  of  the  saving  that  might 
reasonably  be  expected  from  an  annual  expenditure  of 
$50,000,000  for  the  next  ten  years.  He  says,  “ There  would 
be  an  annual  saving  in  transportation  of  $250,000,000,  an 
annual  saving  from  flood  damage  of  $150,000,000,  an  annual 
saving  from  forest  fires  of  $25,000,000,.  an  annual  benefit 
from  cheapened  power  of  $75,000,000,  an  annual  saving  of 
soil  erosion  of  $500,000,000,  a total  of  one  billion  dollars  per 
annum.  The  proposed  expenditure  is  at  the  rate  of  sixty- 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  319 

two  and  one  half  cents  per  capita  annually.  The  saving  is 
at  the  rate  of  $12,50  per  capita,  or  twenty  times  as  much.”  22 

Irrigation.  — Through  irrigation,  great  areas  in  the 
United  States  which  would  otherwise  remain  unproductive 
are  being  brought  under  cultivation.  About  two  fifths  of 
the  area  of  the  United  States  has  an  average  annual  rainfall 
of  less  than  twenty  inches. This  is  the  amount  below 
which  irrigation  is  necessary  in  order  to  get  the  best  results. 
Up  to  the  present  time,  some  14,000,000  acres  have  been 
brought  under  irrigation.^^  This  work  was  first  under- 
taken on  a large  scale  as  a result  of  the  Cary  Act  (1894) 
which  granted  certain  desert  lands  to  the  states  on  condition 
that  they  provide  for  their  irrigation ; and  the  Reclamation 
Act  of  .1902,  which  provided  for  the  building  of  irrigation 
works,  and  set  aside  for  that  purpose  money  from  the  sale 
of  public  lands  in  the  West.  Some  enormous  projects  have 
been  carried  out  under  this  act,  and  many  areas,  formerly  * 
considered  practically  worthless,  are  now  valued  at  from 
$150  to  $500  per  acre,  and  some  orchard  tracts  from  $1000 
to  $1200  per  acre.  Most  of  these  reclamation  projects 
plan  to  furnish  water  annually  of  from  one  and  one  half  to 
five  and  one  half  feet  in  depth  over  the  entire  surface.  In 
1914,  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service  furnished 
water  for  a httle  more  than  750,000  acres,  although  water 
was  ready  for  nearly  600,000  acres  more.  The  government 
now  has  projects  under  way  which  will  provide  for  irrigating 
approximately  3,000,000  acres.  This  is  about  one  fifteenth 
of  the  estimated  area  that  is  capable  of  being  irrigated. 

As  our  population  increases  and  the  better  farming  lands 
are  all  brought  under  cultivation,  there  is  a steady  movement 
toward  the  utilization  of  these  drier  areas.  Through  irri- 
gation, these  lands  will  be  able  to  support  great  numbers 
of  people.  With  this  increasing  demand  for  the  use  of  water, 
new  problems  arise.  With  any  resource,  when  it  is  found 
in  unlimited  quantities,  there  are  practically  no  restrictions 


320 


Social  Problems 


as  to  ownership  other  than  “ first  come,  first  served.”  But 
as  the  resource  becomes  more  scarce,  there  is  always  a 
tendency  toward  a monopolistic  control,  and  the  many  who 
did  not  share  in  the  original  free  distribution,  are  compelled 
to  pay  a high  price  to  the  few  who  were  successful  in  gaining 
control.  This  has  been  our  experience  with  practically  all 
of  our  resources,  such  as  land,  coal,  iron,  petroleum,  and 
other  sources  of  mineral  wealth,  water  power,  and  now 
of  water  itself.  The  two  principal  problems  that  have 
arisen  out  of  the  extension  of  irrigation  are:  (1)  how  to 
lessen  the  waste  in  connection  with  the  use  of  water,  and 
(2)  how  to  secure  fairness  to  all  in  the  distribution  of 
water. 

As  in  the  utilization  of  all  natural  resources,  we  find 
enormous  wastes  in  the  use  of  water.  The  principal  losses 
are  due  to  its  reckless  use.  In  most  cases,  the  farmer  is 
not  charged  for  the  amount  of  water  used,  but  contracts  for 
a sufficient  amount  to  irrigate  a certain  tract.  This  nat- 
urally leads  to  an  abuse  of  the  water  supply.  There  are 
other  losses  through  the  fields  being  poorly  prepared,  so  that 
the  water  does  not  spread  over  them  uniformly.  In  these 
cases,  more  water  is  used  than  is  required.  This,  too,  would 
be  remedied  through  charging  for  the  water  on  the  ba-sis  of 
the  amount  used.  Another  great  loss  is  through  leakage 
because  of  the  careless  construction  of  the  conduits,  and 
through  seepage.  Many  of  the  canals  are  constructed 
through  open,  porous  soil.  At  the  present  _time  the  loss  of 
water  in  irrigation  averages  about  25  per  cent ; in  other 
words,  if  this  water  that  is  wasted  were  utilized,  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  irrigate  some  three  million  acres.  Granted  that 
this  land  was  thereby  made  worth  a hundred  dollars  an  acre, 
this  would  mean  an  increase  of  wealth  of  about  $300,000,000, 
aside  "from  the  value  of  the  crops  that  could  be  raised  on  such 
acreage.^® 

The  question  of  justice  in  the  distribution  of  water  pre- 


f 


Akrowrock  Dam,  near  Boise,  Idaho,  348  Feet  High. 
The  highest  dam  in  the  world. 


iwii4fly 

Of  m ■ 

W/reBSirr  uf  ILLIMOIS 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  321 

sents  a more  complex  problem.  Such  questions  arise  as 
those  of  prior  claims,  the  diverting  of  water  from  its  original 
course,  the  abuse  of  water  privileges,  and  the  proportioning 
of  water  available  for  use.  Many  cases  of  dispute  have  been 
taken  before  the  courts,  and  several  states  have  passed  leg- 
islation looking  to  the  control  of  water  rights.  A number  of 
the  states  are  now  buying  up,  at  enormous  cost,  the  sources 
of  water  supply  and  power,  in  order  to  get  this  control  back 
into  their  own  hands.  After  securing  this  control,  they 
grant  the  privilege  of  use  only  under  conditions  which  aim 
to  secure  justice  for  all.^^ 

Minerals.  — The  forest  products  may  be  replenished,  and 
with  proper  care  may  be  made  to  supply  our  needs  through 
the  successive  years.  Water,  likewise,  replenishes  itself 
from  year  to  year,  and  only  needs  to  be  collected  and  con- 
trolled. With  our  mineral  resources,  however,  once  they  are 
mined,  they  are  mined  for  all  time.  The  supply  cannot  be 
replenished.  The  metals  may  be  used  over  and  over  again, 
thus  materially  adding  to  the  total  supply,  but  when  once 
the  mineral  fuels  are  used  they  are  gone  forever.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  these  latter  have  been  the  most  reck- 
lessly dissipated.  The  United  States  has  far  greater  mineral 
resources  than  has  any  other  nation.  The  annual  value  of 
the  mineral  products  is  now  about  two  and  a quarter  billion 
dollars.^® 

CoalP  — The  four  great  mineral  fuels  are  coal,  peat, 
petroleum,  and  natural  gas.  Our  dependence  upon  these 
products  for  fuel  goes  back  a comparatively  short  time.. 
Coal  is  the  most  important  of  all  the  mineral  products.  The 
amount  available  is  definite,  and  when  a ton  of  coal  is  once 
mined  and  burned  it  is  lost  for  all  time.  Practically  all  of 
the  anthracite  coal  deposits  of  the  United  States  are  found 
within  a small  area  of  about  four  hundred  and  eighty  square 
miles,  in  Pennsylvania.  The  bituminous  coal  is  scattered 
over  a much  greater  area.  The  aggregate  coal  area  is  said 

Y 


322 


Social  Problems 


to  be  about  five  hundred  thousand  square  miles,  or  13  per 
cent  of  the  total  area  of  the  country. 

There  has  not  only  been  a great  increase  in  the  amount 
of  coal  used,  but  also  the  per  capita  increase  has  practically 
doubled  each  decade  since  1850.  With  this  very  rapid  in- 
crease in  the  use  of  coal,  and  with  a limited  supply,  the 
question  naturally  arises  as  to  how  soon  this  supply  will 
give  out.  If  exploitation  should  continue  to  increase  at  the 
same  rate,  the  entire  coal  supply  would  be  exhausted  in  less 
than  a hundred  and  fifty  years.  Comparing  the  amount  of 
coal  that  has  been  mined  and  wasted  with  the  total  amount 
that  is  estimated  to  exist  in  the  United  States,  we  find  that 
about  99  per  cent  of  the  original  amount  is  still  available. 
Consequently,  if  measures  to  prevent  waste  be  taken  soon, 
this  resource  may  be  preserved  for  a long  time  to  come. 

The  wastes  in  the  mining  of  coal  have  been  enormous.  It 
is  estimated  that  for  every  ton  of  anthracite  mined,  from  one 
to  one  and  a half  tons  have  been  wasted  in  mining ; and  for 
every  ton  of  bituminous  coal,  at  least  half  a ton  has  been  thus 
wasted.  Among  the  wastes  in  mining  may  be  mentioned 
the  leaving  of  great  pillars  of  coal  to  hold  up  the  walls  when 
other  systems  of  support  might  be  used;  the  taking  of  the 
coal  from  the  more  accessible  seams  first,  often  leaving  other 
seams  in  such  condition  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  mine 
them;  and  the  throwing  away  or  burning  of  thousands  of 
tons  of  slack.  The  amount  of  this  slack  might  be  lessened 
by  more  careful  methods  of  mining,  and  the  amount  that 
is  produced  could  be  mixed  with  coal  tar  and  used  in  the 
form  of  briquets.  It  is  estimated  that  with  care  these  wastes 
might  be  reduced  to  15  per  cent  or  10  per  cent  of  what 
they  now  are.  In  some  of  the  better  developed  mines,  the 
waste  has  practically  reached  this  figure.  • 

Another  great  waste  is  in  the  use  of  coal  in  the  beehive 
coke  ovens.  It  is  said  that  by  substituting  the  retort  oven, 
such  as  is  used  in  nearly  all  European  countries,  there  would 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  323 

be  saved  practically  $50,000,000  a year.  Imperfect  com- 
bustion accounts  for  a great  deal  of  waste.  From  a fifth  to  a 
third  of  the  coal  is  lost  in  this  way.  This  loss  could  be  ap- 
preciably lessened  through  the  use  of  mechanical  stokers. 
It  is  estimated  that  at  least  20,000,000  tons  of  coal,  represent- 
ing a value  of  140,000,000,  go  up  the  chimneys  in  smoke 
each  year.  The  damage  to  the  city,  however,  from  the 
setthng  down  of  such  a pall  of  smoke  and  soot,  is  from  ten 
to  twelve  times  this  amount.  The  loss  to  health,  although 
it  cannot  be  estimated  in  dollars  and  cents,  is  even  greater. 
Air  which  is  continually  laden  with  smoke  seriously  affects 
the  lungs  and  weakens  the  body.  Experiments  are  being 
made  all  the  time,  looking  toward  a better  utilization  of  the 
coal  used  in  the  production  of  steam.  At  present,  the  aver- 
age steam  engine  “ does  not  develop  into  power  more  than 
5 to  10  per  cent  of  the  heat  energy.”  If  due  care  is  given  to 
reducing  the  wastes  in  mining,  to  utilizing  the  coal  slack,  to 
substituting  the  retort  oven  for  the  beehive,  and  to  eliminat- 
ing the  smoking  chimney  ; and  if  further  discoveries  be  made 
leading  to  greater  efficiency  and  to  the  substitution  of  water 
power  for  coal,  there  is  no  reason  why  our  coal  should  not 
last  much  longer  than  a hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Another  great  problem  is  the  control  of  the  coal  lands. 
Many  thousands  of  acres  have  been  ceded  away  for  practi- 
cally nothing,  and  others  sold  at  from  a fifth  to  a fiftieth  of 
their  real  value.  Many  of  the  coal  lands  of  Colorado,  with 
a royalty  not  to  exceed  eight  cents  a ton,  would  yield  $5000 
an  acre,  yet  a large  portion  of  these  lands  have  been  sold 
at  from  $10  to  $20  per  acre.  We  came  near  losing  the 
extremely  valuable  Alaskan  deposits  in  the  same  way, 
but  fortunately  a large  proportion  of  these  lands  was  with- 
drawn from  public  entry,  and  their  value  thus  preserved  for 
all  the  people.  It  is  being  strongly  urged  by  those  interested 
in  conservation,  that  there  be  no  further  sale  of  the  public 
coal  lands,  but  that  they  be  operated  under  the  lease  sys- 


324 


Social  Problems 


tern.  The  particular  advantages  of  this  system  are  that 
the  leases  could  be  made  of  various-sized  areas;  that  con- 
ditions could  be  imposed  which  would  lessen  the  amount  of 
waste ; that  a royalty  per  ton  could  be  charged  upon  the 
amount  of  coal  mined ; that  under  this  system,  the  prices 
could  be  controlled  by  the  government ; and  the  exporta- 
tion of  coal  might  be  restricted  if  it  were  advisable. 

Peat^^  — Although  as  yet  we  have  not  begun  to  use  peat 
to  anything  like  the  extent  that  people  do  in  Europe,  there 
are  about  eleven  thousand  square  miles  which  have  a com- 
mercial value,  or  are  likely  to  have  a commercial  value  in 
the  future. 

Petr  oleum  has  been  found  in  various  sections  of  the 

United  States.  Some  yields  have  averaged  as  high  as 
10,000  barrels  per  acre.  The  total  amount  extracted  has 
rapidly  increased  in  the  last  few  years,  but  here,  again,  as 
with  coal,  the  total  amount  is  limited,  and  more  so  than  with 
coal.  The  production  from  many  of  the  older  fields,  such  as 
those  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  West  Virginia,  has 
greatly  fallen  off.  California  is  now  producing  more  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  states  put  together,  and  the  three  states, 
California,  Illinois,  and  Oklahoma,  produce  over  three 
quarters  of  the  total  yield  of  the  country It  is  estimated 
that  if  the  present  rate  of  increased  exploitation  should  con- 
tinue, and  no  further  fields  be  discovered,  our  supply  of 
petroleum  will  be  exhausted  by  about  1935 ; that  is,  the 
present  known  supply  will  not  last  us  longer  than  twenty 
years.  Of  the  total  amount  produced,  about  one  fifth  is 
used  for  power,  and  about  one  fifth  is  exported.  Owing  to 
the  limited  amount  of  this  product,  it  has  been  proposed  that 
that  remainder  should  be  conserved  by  substituting  other 
products  for  power,  and  by  prohibiting,  or  at  least  limiting, 
the  amount  exported.  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  the 
government  shall  not  sell  any  more  of  the  public  petroleum 
lands,  but  that  such  lands  shall  be  leased. 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  325 

Natural  gasP  — Although  natural  gas  is  an  ideal  fuel, 
and  although  the  amount  of  it  is  very  limited,  there  is  “no 
natural  resource  which  has  been  so  carelessly  used  and  reck- 
lessly wasted  by  the  American  people  as  this  one.’’  An 
important  source  of  waste  has  been  the  great  pressure 
when  the  bores  reached  the  material,  a pressure  so  great 
that  it  is  difficult  to  cap  the  wells ; but  more  frequently  the 
waste  has  been  the  result  of  mere  carelessness  or  indiffer- 
ence. Often,  when  boring  for  oil,  gas  is  struck,  and  if  oil 
is  not  found,  the  wells  are  simply  lighted  and  allowed  to 
flame.  In  some  cases  the  surrounding  rock  has  sunk,  and 
the  gas  escapes  from  wide  areas  so  as  to  form  flaming  fields. 
The  Caddo  field  in  Louisiana  is  cited  as  such  a lake,  where 
it  is  estimated  some  seventy  million  cubic  feet  of  gas  were 
burned  daily  “ without  doing,  any  good,  in  any  way,  to  any- 
body.” This  was  said  to  be  enough  to  light  ten  cities  of  the 
size  of  Washington,  or  equivalent  to  the  waste  of  ten  thousand 
barrels  of  petroleum  daily.  Often  the  oil  producer  has  per- 
mitted the  gas  found  along  with  the  oil  wells  to  escape  into 
the  air,  and  there  has  also  been  large  loss  in  transmission  of 
gas  through  carelessly  constructed  pipes.  In  these  various 
ways,  the  estimate  is  that  at  least  one  billion  cubic  feet  of 
natural  gas  are  wasted  daily,  and  this  has  a heating  value 
equal  to  about  a million  bushels  of  coal.  We  are  permitting 
such  wastes  as  this  to  gc^  on,  even  though  it  is  estimated  that 
if  this  continues,  the  supply  of  natural  gas  will  be  practically 
ehminated  by  the  end  of  another  twenty  years. 

MetalsN  — Of  the  metals,  iron  is  undoubtedly  the  most 
important.  The  exploitation  of  the  iron  ore  is  comparable 
only  to  the  exploitation  of  coal.  Not  only  has  there  been  a 
remarkable  increase  in  the  total  amount  produced,  but  the 
amount  produced  per  capita  was  seven  times  as  great  in 
1907  as  it  was  in  1870.  It  is  estimated  that  if  the  rate  of  in- 
crease of  exploitation  of  iron  ores  of  the  last  three  decades 
be  continued,  the  high-grade  ores  now  available  will  be 


326 


Social  Problems 


exhausted  in  about  three  decades  more.  There  are  various 
reasons,  however,  for  believing  that  the  available  ores  will 
last  for  a longer  time  than  this.  Greater  care  will  be  taken 
in  the  mining  of  ores,  and  ores  of  a lower  grade  will  be  used. 
It  is  quite  possible,  also,  that  new  deposits  may  be  discovered. 
Cement  and  stone  are  now  being  substituted  for  iron  in  rnuch 
of  the  construction  work  that  is  going  on,  particularly  in 
bridges.  It  is  quite  possible  that  imported  ores  may  be 
used.  There  is  an  increasing  store  of  metallic  iron  which  will 
be  used  over  and  over  again,  as  iron  becomes  more  scarce. 

Of  the  other  metals,^^  copper,  lead,  zinc,  gold,  and  silver, 
there  are  losses  in  connection  with  mining,  because  in  our  zeal 
to  get  quick  profits,  much  of  the  low-grade  material  is  left 
behind.  There  are  losses  in  extraction,  although  with  the 
introduction  of  the  newer  methods  these  are  not  so  great  as 
formerly,  and,  finally,  there  are  losses  of  the  by-products. 
The  loss  in  the  mining  of  lead  is  about  15  per  cent,  with 
a further  loss  of  from  15  to  30  per  cent  in  concentrating 
and  smelting,  so  that  often  not  more  than  half  of  the 
material  of  the  ore  in  the  ground  is  finally  recovered  as 
metallic  lead.  The  per  cent  of  zinc  lost  is  even  greater  than 
that  of  lead.  The  wastes  in  mining  are  about  the  same  as 
in  lead,  but  the  wastes  in  concentration  and  smelting  are 
greater.  In  Missouri,  where  nearly  half  of  the  zinc  is  pro- 
duced, the  recovery  of  metal  is  noli  more  than  one  third  of 
the  amount  in  the  ore.  The  wastes  in  the  mining  of  gold 
and  silver  have  not  been  so  great  as  in  other  metals,  although 
the  losses  are  still  considerable,  both  in  the  mining  and  in 
the  extraction  of  these  metals. 

From  the  facts  given,  it  is  evident  that  legislation  is  needed 
for  the  conservation  of  our  mineral  resources,  legislation  di- 
rected against  these  various  wastes  in  mining  and  smelting, 
requiring  the  utilization  of  the  by-products,  and  particularly 
looking  toward  the  regulation  and  control  of  the  public  min- 
eral lands.  Those  interested  in  conservation  strongly  urge 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  327 

that  all  the  mineral  lands  now  owned  by  the  United  States, 
or  the  states,  should  be  retained  as  public  property,  and 
operated  on  the  lease  system.^® 

Land.  — A fertile  land  is  the  most  valuable  resource  that 
any  people  can  have.  Not  only  the  food  supply,  but  the 
products  from  which  clothing  is  made,  come  either  directly 
or  indirectly  from  the  land.  The  density  of  population 
which  any  area  can  support  is  dependent  upon  its  fertility. 
This  fertility  in  turn  depends  on  the  thickness  and  char- 
acter of  the  soil.  The  soil  has  been  manufactured  by  pro- 
cesses of  nature  extending  over  thousands  of  years.  The 
average  rate  in  the  making  of  the  soil  is  estimated  as  less 
than  an  inch  in  five  hundred  years.  Because  so  much  de- 
pends upon  the  soil,  its  conservation  becomes  a most  vital 
question. 

Carelessness  in  the  granting  of  public  lands.  — It  is  a 
little  late  to  consider  the  conservation  of  the  land  areas, 
as  so  much  of  the  public  land  has  already  been  disposed  of. 
The  great  areas  that  were  added  to  the  original  territory 
were  purchased  at  an  average  cost  of  about  5.1  cents  an 
acre.^^  Having  such  vast  areas  to  be  disposed  of,  but  little 
consideration  was  given  to  their  real  value.  Much  of  the 
land  was  sold  at  from  a few  cents  to  a few  dollars  per  acre. 
Later,  great  areas  were  granted  to  private  individuals  under 
the  homestead  acts  to  encourage  the  establishment,  of  homes 
in  the  newer  sections.  Also  large  grants  were  made  to  the 
railroads  and  other  corporations,  with  the  idea  of  fostering 
internal  improvements.  Further  areas  have  been  granted 
to  the  states  for  educational  and  other  purposes.  These 
lands  were  often  disposed  of  at  but  a fraction  of  their  real 
values.  In  the  disposal  of  such  great  values,  it  is  little 
wonder  that  fraud  and  corruption  were  so  frequently  found. 
In  1913,  investigations  were  made  by  the  Land  Office,  and, 
as  a result,  over  eight  hundred  thousand  acres  were  restored 
to  the  public  domain.  Of  this  amount,  nearly  one  half  was  for 


328 


Social  Problems 


fraudulent  entries,  and  most  of  the  remainder  for  unlawful 
inclosures.  Of  the  total  land  area  of  the  United  States, 
about  three  hundred  million  acres  still  remain  unappro- 
priated and  unreserved.^® 

Farm  landsP  — According  to  the  last  census,  the  land 
in  farms  represented  a little  less  than  one  half  the  total  land 
area  of  our  country.  More  than  one  half  of  this,  or  one 
fourth  of  the  total  land  area,  was  classed  as  improved  land. 
This  area  is  yielding  an  annual  return  in  farm  products, 
valued  at  about  eight  and  a half  billion  dollars.^®  However, 
such  returns  as  these  cannot  continue  without  decreasing  the 
fertility  of  the  land.  The  fertility  of  at  least  half  of  the 
land  is  thought  to  be  less  now  than  it  was  formerly.  During 
the  past  forty  years,  notwithstanding  the  great  improve- 
ments in  the  farm  crops,  the  introduction  of  new  varieties, 
the  use  of  better  seeds,  and  improvements  in  cultivation  and 
the  rotation  of  crops,  the  average  annual  yield  has  remained 
almost  stationary.  The  only  reasonable  explanation  that 
can  be  given  for  this  is  that  large  areas  have  become  de- 
pleted. In  striking  contrast  with  the  situation  which  pre- 
vails here,  and  indicating  what  may  be  done  through  the 
conservation  of  the  soil,  many  of  the  countries  of  Europe 
have  an  average  yield  per  acre  of  50  per  cent  or  more  in 
excess  of  that  of  the  United  States ; and  this  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  these  lands  have  been  cropped  for  cen- 
turies. 

Mechanical  erosion  of  the  soilP  — The  two  principal 
causes  of  the  deterioration  of  the  soil  are  mechanical  erosion 
and  the  loss  of  essential  elements.  Erosion  is  going  on  all 
the  time.  Striking  evidences  may  be  seen  after  any  severe 
storm,  when  great  amounts  are  washed  down  the  hillside. 
Often  great  gullies  are  formed,  which  render  the  land  unfit 
for  tilling.  There  are  several  factors  which  affect  the  rate  of 
erosion,  such  as  the  steepness  of  the  slope,  the  character  of 
the  soil  and  the  subsoil,  and  the  care  which  is  given  the  land 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  329 

Through  carelessness  in  plowing  and  in  leaving  the  fields 
denuded  of  grass  or  forest,  erosion  has  taken  place  much  more 
rapidly  than  under  more  natural  conditions.  It  is  estimated 
that  because  of  a lack  of  knowledge  of  proper  practice,  and 
because  of  neglect,  some  four  million  acres  have  been  so  deeply 
eroded  as  to  be  totally  destroyed,  and  a larger  area  injured 
to  varying  degrees. 

Among  the  suggestions  made  for  checking  erosion  are : 
(1)  deeper  tillage  so  that  the  soil  may  absorb  more  of  the 
water;  (2)  contour  plowing,  that  is,  following  the  general 
level  of  a hill,  rather  than  making  furrows  leading  down  into 
the  valley ; (3)  the  forming  of  terraces ; (4)  the  foresting  of 
steep  slopes ; (5)  the  controlling  of  the  gullies  by  a covering 
of  grass,  or  in  case  the  slopes  are  steep,  with  shrubbery.  It 
may  even  be  necessary  to  construct  brush  dams  to  hold  the 
soil  back.  In  these  various  ways  the  losses  due  to  erosion 
may  be  checked. 

Loss  of  essential  elements^  — The  soil  contains  various 
elements  which  are  essential  to  plant  growth.  Some  of  these, 
such  as  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  others,  exist  in  such 
quantities  in  the  atmosphere,  in  the  water,  and  in  the  soil, 
as  to  be  practically  illimitable  in  amount.  Consequently  we 
are  not  concerned  in  their  conservation.  There  are  other 
elements,  such  as  nitrogen,  potassium,  and  phosphorus, 
which  are  most  essential  to  plant  growth,  and  through 
plant  products,  as  food  for  man. 

There  are  certain  crops,  such  as  grain,  cotton,  and  tobacco, 
which  take  a large  amount  of  nitrogen  from  the  soil.  Where 
these  crops  have  been  raised  for  a succession  of  years,  the 
nitrogen  soon  becomes  depleted,  and  this  results  in  a marked 
falling  off  of  the  productivity  of  a given  area.  There  is  one 
class  of  plants,  the  Leguminosce,  including  clover,  alfalfa, 
peas,  and  beans,  the  raising  of  which  restores  the  nitrogen 
elements  to  the  soil.  These  plants  are  able  to  use  free 
nitrogen  of  the  ,air,  and  when  they  are  grown  and  turned 


330 


Social  Problems 


under  the  soil,  it  replenishes  the  supply  of  this  element  in 
the  soil.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  rotation  of  crops  adds  to 
the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Lands  that  have  become  worn  out 
through  the  raising  of  the  same  crop  year  after  year  are 
again  made  fertile  by  changing  to  other  crops  which  make 
different  demands  on  the  soil.  The  productivity  of  various 
areas  has  been  materially  increased  through  the  scientific 
rotation  of  crops.  Another  way  of  replenishing  the  nitrogen 
in  the  soil  is  through  the  use  of  fertilizers.  The  importance 
of  this  is  being  recognized  more  and  more,  and  the  pro- 
ductivity is  being  increased  through  the  application  of  such 
fertilizers  as  will  restore  the  necessary  elements. 

Potassium  is  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  crops,  but  there  is 
such  an  adequate  supply  of  this  element  that  the  problem  of 
its  conservation  is  not  very  important.  Phosphorus  is  such 
a vital  element  in  our  food  supply,  and  is  so  essential  to  the 
fertility  of  any  area,  that  President  Van  Hise  speaks  of  it 
as  “ incomparably  of  greater  importance  to  us  than  all  of 
our  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  and  zinc.”  He  also  says  that  the 
conservation  of  our  phosphates  is  “ the  most  crucial,  the 
most  far  reaching  with  reference  to  the  future  of  this  nation, 
of  any  of  the  problems  of  conservation.”  It  has  been  dem- 
onstrated that  fields  which  have  been  cropped  for  a number  of 
years  do  not  contain  more  than  from  a third  to  a sixth  of 
their  original  amount  of  phosphorus.  By  the  using  of  raw 
phosphates  on  such  lands,  their  productivity  is  materially 
increased.  All  of  the  products  raised  on  the  farms  draw 
more  or  less  upon  the  supply  of  phosphorus.  It  is  stated 
that  this  loss  in  tobacco  farming  is  twelve  times  as  great  as 
that  in  grain  farming.  Several  suggestions  have  been  made, 
looking  toward  the  elimination  of  wastes  and  the  restoring  of 
phosphates  to  the  soil.  Great  amounts  are  wasted  in  the 
mining  of  phosphates,  much  of  the  lower  grade  material 
being  disregarded,  and  handled  in  such  a way  as  to  make  its 
recovery  difficult.  There  are  also  great  wastes  through  not 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  331 

conserving  the  fertilizers  on  the  farms.  A very  large  amount 
of  fertilizer  is  simply  allowed  to  wash  away,  instead  of  being 
restored  to  the  land.  The  failure  to  utilize  the  sewage  of 
the  cities  as  fertilizer  accounts  for  a great  loss  of  phosphates. 
The  amount  of  phosphorus  lost  through  our  careless  methods 
of  sewage  disposal  is  said  to  be  the  equivalent  of  nearly  one 
and  a quarter  milhon  tons  of  high-grade  phosphate  rock.  Be- 
cause of  the  great  value  of  the  phosphates,  it  is  recommended 
that  the  public  phosphate  lands  should  be  retained  by  the 
government,  and  that  the  exportation  of  phosphates  should 
be  carefully  controlled,  if  not  prohibited. 

Drainage  of  marsh  lands. — We  have  spoken  of  the  great 
areas  being  brought  under  cultivation  through  irrigation. 
It  is  also  possible  to  increase  the  amount  of  tillable  lands 
through  the  drainage  of  swamps  and  marshes.  There  are  in 
the  United  States  about  seventy-seven  million  acres  of  swamp 
land  which  may  be  drained.  This  is  an  area  approximately 
equal  to  that  of  the  United  Kingdom  (England,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  and  Wales),  or  about  equal  to  the  three  states,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Pennsylvania.  This  land,  when  drained,  would 
be  worth  at  least  $60  an  acre.  Estimating  the  present  value 
of  this  land  at  $8  an  acre,  and  the  cost  of  draining 
at  $5  an  acre,  this  would  mean  an  increased  valuation  of 
the  present  swamp  land  of  nearly  $3,000,000,000.  A low 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  annual  crop  that  could  be 
produced  on  this  land  is  $770,000,000.  This  area  is  about 
ten  times  that  of  Holland.  If  these  lands  were  to  support  a 
population  of  the  same  density  as  Holland,  they  would  main- 
tain fifty  million  people.  A further  gain  through  the  drain- 
age of  wet  lands,  would  be  the  improvement  of  health  in  these 
vicinities.  The  present  loss  due  to  malaria  in  the  United 
States  is  not  less  than  $100,000,000  per  annum.  With  the 
drainage  of  swamps  and  marshes  this  would  be  almost 
eliminated. 


332 


Social  Problems 


QUESTIONS 

1.  How  do  you  account  for  our  indifference  regarding  con- 
servation ? 

2.  Tell  about  the  depletion  of  our  forests. 

3.  Tell  about  conservation  in  Germany. 

,4.  What  legislation  has  been  passed  looking  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  our  forests? 

5.  What  are  some  of  the  activities  of  our  forestry  service? 
About  how  much  is  being  expended  on  our  national  forests  ? 

6.  ’^yhat  are  the  several  ways  in  which  wastes  may  be  lessened  ? 
Tell  about  each. 

7.  What  is  said  regarding  national  versus  state  control?  The 
conservation  of  our  water  supply? 

8.  Tell  about  the  conservation  of  water  power.  Why  is  public 
control  necessary  ? 

9.  How  many  miles  of  navigable  rivers  are  there  in  the  United 
States  ? What  are  the  advantages  resulting  from  the  development 
of  the  waterways  ? 

10.  What  possible  savings  are  suggested  ? 

11.  Tell  about  irrigation  in  the  United  States. 

12.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  losses  in  irrigation? 

13.  What  is  said  of  our  mineral  wealth?  What  are  the  four 
great  mineral  fuels  ? 

14.  What  is  said  of  our  coal  supply?  What  are  some  of  the 
principal  wastes  ? How  may  our  coal  be  further  conserved  ? 

15.  What  is  said  of  our  supply  of  petroleum?  Of  its  conserva- 
tion? 

16.  What  are  some  of  our  principal  losses  in  metals?  What 
should  be  done  to  guard  against  these  losses? 

17.  Tell  of  our  carelessness  in  the  granting  of  public  lands. 

18.  What  is  said  regarding  farm  lands  ? 

19.  What  are  the  two  principal  causes  of  the  deterioration  of  the 
soil?  Tell  about  each.  How  may  these  losses  be  prevented? 

20.  Tell  about  the  drainage  of  marsh  lands. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Tourney,  Yale  Review,  Oct.,  1913,  p.  145. 

2.  Tourney,  Yale  Review,  Oct.,  1913,  p.  147. 

3.  Van  Hise,  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources,  p.  210. 

4.  Van  Hise,  p.  222. 


Conservation  of  Natural  Resources 


333 


5.  Tourney,  Yale  Review,  Oct.,  1913,  p.  147. 

6.  Report  of  the  Conservation  Association,  “National  Forests.” 

7.  Van  Hise,  p.  214. 

8.  Outlook,  102  : 936. 

9.  New  International  Year  Book,  1913,  “Forestry.” 

10.  Van  Hise,  pp.  223-44. 

11.  Van  Hise,  p.  262. 

12.  Outlook,  102  : 937. 

13.  Andrews,  St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press. 

14.  New  International  Year  Book,  1913,  “Aqueducts.” 

15.  New  International  Year  Book,  1913,  “Dams.” 

16.  Van  Hise,  p.  132. 

17.  National  Conservation  Association  Report,  Dee.,  1913. 

18.  Van  Hise,  p.  135. 

19.  Van  Hise,  pp.  163-4. 

20.  American  Year  Book,  1913,  “Waterways.” 

21.  Van  Hise,  p.  181. 

22.  Van  Hise,  pp.  183-4. 

23.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Practical  Sociology,  p.  30. 

24.  New  International  Year  Book,  1912,  “Irrigation.” 

25.  New  International  Year  Book,  1913-14,  “Irrigation.’® 

26.  Van  Hise,  pp.  198-9. 

27.  Van  Hise,  p.  204. 

28.  Statistical  Abstract,  1913. 

29.  Van  Hise,  pp.  17-46. 

30.  Van  Hise,  p.  46. 

31.  Van  Hise,  pp.  47-55. 

32.  Statistical  Abstract,  1913. 

33.  Van  Hise,  pp.  56-60. 

34.  Van  Hise,  pp.  62-74. 

35.  Van  Hise,  pp.  74-96. 

36.  Van  Hise,  pp.  96-7. 

37.  Van  Hise,  p.  278. 

38.  Report  of  Commissioner  General  of  the  Land  Office,  1913, 
pp.  5 and  63. 

39.  Van  Hise,  pp.  299  and  303. 

40.  Statistical  Abstract,  1913,  p.  660. 

41.  Van  Hise,  pp.  306-13. 

42.  Van  Hise,  pp.  314-39. 

43.  Van  Hise,  pp.  344-8, 


334 


Social  Problems 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Van  Hise,  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  the  United  States, 
Parts  I-IV.  The  most  complete  single  volume  on  the  subject. 
Reports  of  the  National  Conservation  Congress. 

Publications  of  the  National  Conservation  Association. 

Reports  of  Commissioner  General  of  the  Land  Office. 

Haworth,  America  in  Ferment,  Ch.  III. 

World’s  Work,  23  : 593,  “Our  Stupendous  Yearly  Waste.” 


CHAPTER  XVI 


CONSERVATION  OF  PLANT  AND  ANIMAL  LIFE 

I.  Introduction. 

1.  Consumer’s  point  of  view, 

2.  Producer’s  point  of  view. 

3.  Recent  realization  of  its  importance. 

II.  Losses  from  animal  diseases. 

1.  Cattle. 

2.  Sheep. 

3.  Hogs. 

4.  Efficient  control. 

III.  Losses  in  plants. 

1.  Due  to  insect  pests. 

2.  Due  to  plant  diseases, 

3.  Due  to  depredations  of  animals. 

IV.  Decreasing  amount  of  wild  game. 

1.  Examples. 

2.  Reasons. 

3.  Restrictions. 

V.  Other  savings  and  factors  in  increased  production. 

1.  Warnings  of  flood  and  frost. 

2.  New  species  of  grains  and  fruits  introduced. 

3.  The  work  of  state  and  federal  experiment  stations. 

4.  Disseminating  of  information. 

5.  Possibilities  of  increased  production. 

VI.  Conclusion. 

Introduction.  — Consumer's  viewpoint. — When  we  stop 
to  consider  that  the  average  workingman  spends  approxi- 
mately one  half  of  his  entire  income  for  food,  and  about  a 
sixth  of  his  income  for  clothing,  we  can  appreciate  how  any- 
thing that  affects  the  supply  of  food  products,  or  the  supply 
of  raw  material  which  goes  into  his  clothing,  will  affect  his 
whole  standard  of  living.  Anything  that  affects  the  meat 

33S 


336 


Social  Problems 


supply  of  the  country,  the  fruits,  the  grains,  or  the  vegetables, 
will  affect  the  prices  of  those  commodities  upon  which  we 
are  dependent  for  our  daily  living.  Likewise  anything  affect- 
ing the  quantity  of  cotton  produced,  or  the  amount  of  wool, 
will  have  a direct  effect  upon  the  price  that  we  have  to  pay 
for  clothing.  Our  population  is  increasing  very  rapidly. 
We  no  longer  have  natural  resources  in  such  great  quantities 
that  they  may  be  had  merely  for  the  asking.  This  means 
that  greater  effort  must  be  expended  in  increasing  the  amount 
that  can  be  produced  on  a given  area.  We  must  also  give 
consideration  to  the  fullest  utilization  of  what  is  produced. 

Producer’s  viewpoint.  — From  the  standpoint  of  the  pro- 
ducer, this  is  a most  important  problem,  as  approximately 
one  third  of  all  those  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  the 
United  States  are  engaged  in  agriculture,  forestry,  and 
animal  husbandry,^  and  anything  which  affects  the  amounts 
that  they  can  produce  in  these  industries  will  immediately 
affect  their  income.  Conservation  of  plant  and  animal  life 
thus  has  a twofold  function,  to  benefit  the  consumer  through 
increasing  the  amount  which  he  can  purchase  for  a given 
sum  of  money,  and  to  benefit  the  producer  through  increasing 
the  returns  for  his  effort. 

Recent  realization  of  its  importance.  — In  the  last  chapter 
we  considered  the  enormous  wastes  due  t6  our  careless  and 
indifferent  use  of  the  great  natural  resources  of  the  country. 
We  have  been  quite  as  careless  and  indifferent  in  regard  to 
the  wastes  of  plant  and  animal  life.  We  have  stood  by 
blindly  and  allowed  certain  pests,  certain  blights,  to  gain  such 
a foothold  in  the  country  as  almost  to  wipe  out  some  of  our 
greatest  wealth-producing  industries.  It  is  only  within  the 
last  two  decades  that  we  have  begun  to  realize  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  saving  of  millions  of  dollars  to  the  people  of  the 
country  through  the  expenditure  of  thousands.  Throughout 
the  past  twenty  years,  many  investigations  have  been  made 
regarding  the  causes  of  the  different  losses,  and  methods  and 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  337 

processes  have  been  discovered,  the  application  of  which  will 
mean  an  enormously  increased  production,  and  consequent 
consumption,  throughout  the  United  States. 

One  reason  for  our  failure  to  appreciate  these  losses  has 
been  our  indifference  to  small  items,  our  lack  of  appreciation 
of  the  enormous  aggregates  which  may  result  from  many 
small  savings.  We  are  not  wont  to  think  of  the  economic 
importance  of  an  egg,  yet  the  estimated  value  of  the  poultry 
industry  for  1912  in  the  United  States  was  $570,000,000.^ 
This  nearly  equaled  the  total  value  of  the  wheat  crop,  or 
would  have  paid  for  the  entire  cost  of  our  public  schools 
with  nearly  a hundred  million  dollars  to  spare.  There  are 
great  preventable  losses  in  quality  and  value  in  the  poultry 
business.  The  producer  loses  when  he  must  sell  at  a lower 
price  because  of  spoilage  or  poor  quality,  resulting  from  care- 
less methods  in  handling ; and  the  consumer  loses  because  of 
the  lessened  supply  and  consequent  higher  prices.  These 
losses  are  estimated  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  a 
hundred  and  twenty  million  dollars  a year,^  an  amount  nearly 
equal  to  the  total  value  of  the  gold  and  silver  produced  in 
a year  in  the  United  States. 

Losses  from  animal  diseases.  — The  United  States  is 
still  an  agricultural  country.  The  total  value  of  its  farm 
products  for  1912  ($9,500,000,000)^  was  more  than  ten  times 
the  value  of  all  the  iron,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  gold,  silver,  and 
all  other  metals  mined  in  the  country.  About  one  third 
of  this  wealth  is  in  the  animal  products  from  the  farm,  and 
about  two  thirds  is  in  the  crops  raised.  Anything  which 
affects  the  health  of  any  of  our  domestic  animals  will  seriously 
affect  the  economic  life  of  the  whole  country. 

From  earliest  times,  we  have  had  accounts  of  great  scourges 
that  afflicted  the  domestic  animals  as  well  as  of  those  which 
attacked  human  beings.  Ever  since  biblical  times,  succes- 
sive scourges  of  locusts  or  grasshoppers  have  caused  the  dev- 
astation of  great  areas.  Formerly  these  were  looked  upon 
z 


338 


Social  Problems 


as  afflictions  sent  by  Providence  which  were  only  to  be  en- 
dured. Now  we  look  upon  the  same  things  as  nuisances 
which  with  sufficient  effort  may  be  eliminated. 

Practically  all  of  our  domestic  animals  have  been  subject 
to  various  diseases  from  time  to  time.  The  diseases  which 
have  affected  the  cattle  industry  have  been  perhaps  the  most 
important  from  an  economic  standpoint,  because  of  the 
great  value  of  the  dairy  and  meat  products  of  the  country, 
because  of  our  dependence  upon  these  products  for  our  food 
supply,  and  because  of  the  dangers  of  transmission  of  certain 
of  these  diseases  to  human  beings. 

Cattle.  — Of  these  diseases,  bovine  tuberculosis  is  the  most 
widespread,  and  is  perhaps  most  familiar  to  us  because  of 
the  recent  agitation  to  require  a test  of  all  herds  which  furnish 
the  milk  supply  for  our  different  communities.  In  1907, 
the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  first  undertook  actively  to 
cooperate  with  state  and  city  officials  and  with  individual 
herd  owners  in  the  eradication  of  this  disease  from  dairy 
herds.  Many  animals  were  tested,  herds  often  showing 
as  high  as  17  or  18  per  cent  afflicted  with  tuberculosis. 
Realizing  the  menace  to  health  from  the  use  of  milk  from 
such  animals,  many  cities  passed  ordinances  permitting  milk 
to  be  sold  from  inspected  herds  only.  Many  states  passed 
laws  requiring  the  testing  of  herds,  providing  for  the  con- 
demnation of  those  animals  afflicted,  and  for  reimbursing 
the  owners.  As  a result  of  these  repressive  measures,  the 
number  of  animals  affected  has  been  reduced  in  these  sec- 
tions from  17  and  18  per  cent,  to  from  1 to  3 per  cent,  and 
it  is  believed  that  the  disease  can  be  entirely  eliminated.® 

Another  disease  which  threatened  to  wipe  out  the  entire 
cattle  industry  of  the  West  and  South  is  the  Texas  fever. 
This  disease,  beginning  in  the  South,  extended  over  suc- 
cessive areas  until  nearly  a fourth  of  the  total  area  of  the 
United  States  was  infected.  This  infected  area  was  first 
located  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  between  the  years 


I 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  339 

1882  and  1885,  and  then  was  quarantined  in  order  to  prevent 
the  spread  of  the  disease.  In  1890,  the  discovery  was  made 
by  some  of  the  scientists  in  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
that  the  tick  was  the  carrier  and  disseminator  of  Texas 
fever.  Throughout  this  infected  region  a large  number  of 
cattle  have  died,  while  all  of  the  infected  animals  have  had 
an  arrested  growth,  with  an  accompanying  loss  in  beef  and 
milk  production.®  There  have  also  been  great  losses  through 
the  decreased  value  of  Southern  cattle  in  the  markets,  and 
through  the  quarantine  which  prevented  the  selling  or 
exhibiting  of  the  cattle  outside  this  area.  These  total  losses 
are  estimated  at  from  sixty  to  a hundred  million  dollars  a 
year.^ 

It  was  not  until  1906  that  a systematic  effort  to  eradicate 
these  ticks  was  made  by  the  Federal  government,  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  several  state  governments.  Then  it  was  dis- 
covered that  it  was  a comparatively  simple  matter  to  rid  a 
herd  of  these  pests  by  dipping  or  spraying  the  animals  with 
an  arsenical  solution  and  by  care  in  the  rotation  of  pastures. 
It  was  found  that  this  could  be  done  at  an  average  cost  of 
not  more  than  fifty  cents  a head;  while  the  average  value  of 
the  cattle  thus  freed  was  increased  seven  dollars  a head.® 
As  a result  of  this  systematic  effort,  about  two  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  or  more  than  a fourth  of  the  entire 
infected  area,  has  been  freed  from  the  tick  and  released 
from  quarantine.®  The  eradication  of  this  disease  is  re- 
generating agricultural  conditions  throughout  the  South. 
It  not  only  prevents  the  losses  due  to  the  tick,  but  opens  up 
an  unrestricted  market  for  cattle,  thus  enabling  the  stock 
growers  to  obtain  better  prices.  Good  breeding  stock  can 
now  be  brought  in  without  danger  of  loss,  thus  promoting  the 
cattle  raising  and  dairy  industries.^  This  makes  possible 
diversified  farming,  increases  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
improves  agricultural  conditions  generally.  The  enormous 
gain  resulting  from  freeing  this  territory  from  this  disease 


340 


Social  Problems 


has  been  achieved  at  a cost  to  the  Federal  government  of  less 
than  ten  dollars  to  the  square  mile  or  about  a cent  and  a 
half  an  acre.® 

Another  great  loss  in  the  cattle  industry  was  due  to  black 
leg.  In  infected  regions,  this  disease  caused  losses  of  10 
pej*  cent  of  all  the  calves.  European  investigators  discovered 
a protective  vaccine.  Within  the  past  fifteen  years,  some 
seventeen  million  doses  of  this  vaccine  have  been  distributed 
among  the  stock  raisers.  As  a result  of  its  use,  the  losses 
have  been  reduced  to  less  than  one  half  of  one  per  cent  of  the 
vaccinated  cattle.^® 

Sheep.  — A few  years  ago,  many  wool  growers  were  predict- 
ing that  the  sheep  industry  of  this  country  would  soon  come  to 
an  end,  owing  to  the  spread  of  sheep  scabies.  This  disease 
caused  a heavy  loss  in  the  product  of  wool  and  mutton  each 
year,  and  it  became  so  prevalent  throughout  the  West,  that, 
in  1904,  a federal  quarantine  was  placed  on  a district  includ- 
ing over  half  of  the  total  area  of  the  United  States.  The  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  in  cooperation  with  the  several 
states,  provided  for  the  inspection  of  all  sheep,  and  the  proper 
treatment  of  all  found  to  be  infected  with,  or  exposed  to,  this 
disease.  The  plan  was  very  effectual,  and  the  disease 
was  completely  eradicated  from  large  areas  which  were  then 
released  from  quarantine.  New  Mexico  affords  an  example 
of  what  may  be  done  as  the  result  of  state  and  federal  co- 
operation in  the  eradicating  of  such  a disease.  ‘In  this  state 
in  1907,  there  were  about  four  and  a half  million  sheep, 
nearly  one  half  (48  per  cent)  of  which  were  diseased.  As  a 
result  of  the  annual  dipping,  under  federal  supervision,  of  all 
sheep  in  the  state,  inspection  of  sheep  in  the  spring  of  1912 
showed  the  existence  of  less  than  1 per  cent  of  disease.  Thus, 
by  systematic  effort,  and  at  a comparatively  slight  cost,  this 
disease  with  its  heavy  loss  in  the  products  of  wool  and 
mutton  each  year,  has  been  practically  eliminated  from  the 
United  States. 


Conservation  oj  Plant  and  Animal  Life  341 

Hogs.  — • Those  who  live  in  the  Middle  West  will  recall 
with  what  alarm  the  farmers  of  these  regions  learned  that 
hog  cholera  had  broken  out  in  their  neighborhood.  When 
this  disease  once  got  a foothold,  it  swept  across  great  areas, 
costing  many  farmers  their  entire  droves.  It  became  so 
serious  that  many  farmers  gave  up  attempting  to  raise  hogs, 
and  were  thus  cut  off  from  an  important  source  of  their  farm 
revenues.  It  is  estimated  that  the  average  yearly  loss  from 
this  disease  has  amounted  to  more  than  $18,000,000,^^ 
besides  materially  affecting  the  meat  supply  of  the  country. 
In  1903,  after  several  years  of  investigations,  the  micro- 
organism that  caused  this  fatal  disease  was  discovered.  After 
the  discovery  of  the  cause,  a study  of  the  problem  of  preven- 
tion was  taken  up,  resulting  in  the  discovery  of  a protective 
serum.  This  serum  can  be  produced  at  a comparatively 
low  cost,  and  its  use  has  given  most  satisfactory  results. 
Some  twenty-eight  states  are  cooperating  with  the  Federal 
government  in  supplying  this  serum,  and  thus  the  disease 
is  being  brought  well  under  control.  The  economic  gain 
through  the  wiping  out  of  such  a fatal  disease  as  this  may 
be  appreciated  when  we  consider  that  the  value  of  prSperty  in 
swine  in  the  United  States  exceeds  $500,000,000.^^  The 
South  Dakota  Experiment  Station  showed  that  90  per 
cent  of  aU  animals  treated  with  this  serum  safely  withstood 
disease. With  the  elimination  of  hog  cholera,  farmers  will 
be  able  to  raise  greatly  increased  numbers  of  hogs,  without 
being  deterred,  as  they  have  been,  by  the  fear  of  this  destruc- 
tive disease.  This  will  mean  a better  utilization  of  the  corn 
crop,  more  diversified  farming  with  all  of  its  advantages, 
larger  revenue  to  the  farmer,  and  an  increased  meat  supply 
for  all  the  people. 

Efficient  control.  — The  dreaded  foot  and  mouth  disease 
of  foreign  origin  has  broken  out  twice  within  this  country, 
but  through  strict  quarantine,  careful  inspection,  the  slaughter 
of  all  diseased  and  exposed  animals,  and  the  disinfection  of 


342 


Social  Problems 


premises  it  has  been  promptly  eradicated  after  a few  months 
of  vigorous  effort,  through  the  cooperation  of  federal  and 
state  authorities.  Had  it  not  been  for  a capable,  well-trained, 
and  thoroughly  organized  force,  ready  to  attack  this  disease 

with  the  energy  and  promptness  of  a city  fire  department,” 
this  infection  would  in  all  probability  “ have  extended  to 
the  great  cattle-raising  regions  of  the  West  where  it  would 
have  caused  tremendous  damage,  and  where  its  eradication 
would  have  been  much  more  difficult  if  not  impossible.” 

Many  other  diseases  have  also  obtained  a foothold  in 
this  country.  Some  of  them  have  been  brought  in  through 
the  importation  of  stock  from  foreign  countries.  Certain 
ones  have  attacked  horses,  causing  great  losses  in  particular 
localities,  but  as  the  result  of  strict  quarantine  measures, 
together  with  proper  treatment  of  the  diseases,  they  have 
been  brought  under  control,  and  in  ^ many  cases  completely 
eradicated. 

Losses  in  plants.  — Insect  pests  as  the  cause.  — No  one 
has  ever  attempted  to  run  a farm  or  even  to  have  a small 
garden  without  becoming  conscious  of  the  many  pests  against 
which  he  must  contend,  in  order  to  secure  a full  crop.  No 
grain,  fruit,  or  vegetable  seems  to  be  free  from  these  pests, 
and,  unless  they  are  subdued,  the  entire  crop  may  be  lost. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  ravages  of  plant  diseases  and  insects 
cause  an  annual  loss  to  the  farmers  of  about  20  per  cent 
of  their  crops,  or  about  a billion  dollars. This  means  a 
yearly  loss  equivalent  to  more  than  ten  dollars  apiece  for 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  country.  As  a result 
of  investigations,  methods  of  controlling  some  of  the  worst 
of  these  pests  have  been  found,  and  our  Department  of 
Agriculture  says  that  probably  one  third  of  this  enormous 
sum  could  be  saved  by  the  proper  application  of  insecticides 
and  fungicides.^ 

About  1892  the  cotton  grown  in  the  southern  part  of 
Texas,  near  Brownsville,  was  found  to  be  infested  with  a 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  343 

weevil  which  burrowed  into  and  destroyed  the  boll  of  the 
cotton  plant.  Because  due  precautionary  measures  were  not 
taken  against  the  pest,  it  continued  to  spread  over  wide 
areas,  extending  its  ravages  each  year  over  a new  radius 
of  some  fifty  miles.  Within  ten  years,  it  had  reached 
Louisiana.  By  1905  it  had  gotten  into  Oklahoma  and 
Arkansas,  by  1907  into  Mississippi,  and  by  1910  into  Ala- 
bama. It  has  since  reached  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  and  has 
extended  some  miles  into  Florida.  For  the  past  ten  years, 
about  twenty  seven  thousand  square  miles  have  been  added 
each  year  to  the  infested  area,  until  now  an  area  of  nearly 
three  hundred  thousand  square  miles  is  suffering  from  the 
depredations  of  the  boll  weevil.  In  some  sections  this  has 
caused  a total  loss  of  the  cotton  crop,  and  for  the  infested 
region  there  has  been  a falling  off  of  the  crop  of  about  50 
per  cent.  Some  years  the  losses  from  this  one  pest  have 
been  estimated  to  exceed  $50,000,000.  The  United  States 
appropriates  about  $250,000  a year  to  fight  this  pest,  and 
individual  states  are  likewise  appropriating  large  sums. 
As  the  result  of  their  combined  attack,  the  boll  weevil 
injury  has  been  greatly  lessened.  New  cultural  methods 
have  been  introduced,  varieties  of  cotton  more  resistant  to 
certain  diseases  are  being  grown,  and  farmers’  demon- 
stration work  is  being  carried  on  throughout  these  infested 
regions.  Thus,  by  the  application  of  scientific  methods, 
the  yield  of  cotton  on  these  demonstration  farms  has  been 
more  than  75  per  cent  greater  than  that  for  the  entire 
states.^® 

Of  the  insects  injurious  to  fruits,  the  codling  moth  is  said 
to  cause  greater  loss  to  apples  and  pears  than  all  other  in- 
sects combined.  The  loss  that  this  insect  causes  to  the  apple 
orchards  of  our  country  is  said  to  be  not  less  than  $15,000,- 
000.^^  In  many  sections  of  the  country,  where  orchards 
once  flourished,  farmers  have  given  up  all  attempts  to  raise 
apples  and  pears.  In  some  areas,  where  no  preventive  meas- 


344 


Social  Problems 


ures  were  taken,  this  insect  caused  a total  loss  of  the  fruit, 
and  a few  years  ago  it  was  estimated  that  from  a fourth  to  a 
half  of  the  apple  crop  of  the  United  States  was  either  totally 
ruined  or  materially  injured  by  it.  Experts  of  the  Bureau  of 
Entomology  began  to  look  for  remedial  measures  in  order  to 
protect  our  fruit  from  the  depredations  of  this  moth,  and 
certain  birds  were  found  to  be  the  most  natural  enemies 
of  the  pesE  An  efficient  system  of  spraying  the  trees 
was  discovered,  at  a cost  of  not  more  than  from  one  to 
three  cents  a tree.  As  a result  of  the  careful  following  out 
of  the  suggested  measures,  many  orchards  were  restored  to 
their  former  capacity,  and  the  apple  growers,  even  in  the 
badly  infested  regions,  are  saving  from  85  to  98  per  cent  of 
their  fruit  each  year.^^ 

New  England  has  greatly  suffered  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years  from  the  devastation  of  the  gypsy  moth.  In  some 
sections  the  shade  and  fruit  trees  were  completely  despoiled 
of  their  leaves.  This  led  to  a marked  depreciation  of  prop- 
erty values  in  infested  towns,  in  addition  to  the  loss  of  fruit, 
and  the  disagreeableness  of  such  a pest  as  this.^®  About  the 
same  time  the  Western  states  were  suffering  enormous  losses 
from  the  San  Jose  scale  which  particularly  attacked  the 
citrus  orchards.^®  Other  fruits  have  suffered  from  similar 
pests;  the  various  grains  and  many  of  the  vegetables 
have  likewise  been  attacked  by  certain  insect  pests.  These 
have  all  caused  enormous  losses,  and  in  some  sections  have 
been  so  serious  as  to  cause  the  farmer  to  abandon  the  attempt 
to  raise  certain  crops.  In  most  cases,  however,  a careful 
study  of  the  pest  has  led  to  the  discovery  of  methods  by 
which  its  ravages  may  be  checked,  if  not  completely  elimi- 
nated. 

Losses  due  to  plant  diseases.  — It  is  probable  that  quite  as 
great  losses  have  resulted  from  the  attacks  of  grain,  fruit, 
and  vegetable  diseases,  as  have  resulted  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  insects.  One  of  the  most  serious  of  these  diseases 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  345 

was  that  of  pear  blight.  The  effective  control  of  this  disease 
has  been  accomplished  and  has  resulted  in  the  saving  of 
millions  of  dollars  to  pear  growers  on  the  Pacific  coast  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  country.^^  Other  diseases  have  at- 
tacked the  potato,  the  egg  plant,  the  tomato,  the  peach, 
the  grape,  the  cotton  and  tobacco  plants,  the  cranberries, 
asparagus,  and  sugar  beets.  Each  of  these  diseases  has 
caused  great  loss  to  the  fruit  grower,  the  farmer,  and  the 
truck  gardener.  Often,  however,  simple  but  efficient  meas- 
ures have  been  found  by  which  they  could  be  checked, 
and  in  some  cases  completely  eradicated.  A good  illustra- 
tion of  the  economic  gain  to  a state  resulting  from  the 
control  of  one  of  these  diseases  is  afforded  by  Wisconsin.  A 
few  years  ago  the  oat  crop  suffered  great  losses  because  of 
smut.  The  University  found  a way  of  reducing  this  loss 
from  20  per  cent  to  one  half  of  1 per  cent.  This  resulted 
in  a saving  to  the  state  on  this  one  crop  of  about  four  and 
a half  million  dollars  yearly 

Losses  due  to  depredations  of  animals.  — Another  serious 
loss  to  growing  crops  is  that  resulting  from  the  depredations 
of  such  animals  as  wolves,  coyotes,  moles,  field  mice,  rabbits, 
ground  squirrels,  and  prairie  dogs.  A number  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  and  other  Western  states  are  infested  by  these 
pests.  Some  of  the  colonies  occupy  many  thousands  of 
acres,  and  aggregate  millions  of  rodents.  It  is  considered 
that  thirty-two  prairie  dogs  will  eat  as  much  forage  as  one 
sheep,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  prairie  dogs  as  much  as  a 
COW.2*  Consequently,  such  vast  numbers  of  them  as  are 
found  on  the  western  prairies  do  an  immense  damage  to  forage 
and  other  farm  crops.  These  destructive  rodents  have 
caused  such  enormous  annual  losses  (estimated  at  nearly 
$100,000,000)  throughout  the  grazing  and  farming  regions 
that  the  Biological  Survey  has  been  conducting  experiments 
with  poisoned  bait,  traps,  and  other  methods  looking  forward 
to  their  extermination.  The  meadow  mice,  which  ordinarily 


346 


Social  Problems 


are  of  little  importance,  increased  inordinately  in  certain 
sections  of  Nevada  in  1908,  and,  before  they  could  be  checked, 
destroyed  thousands  of  dollars’  worth  of  alfalfa.  We  or- 
dinarily think  of  the  crawfish  as  an  entirely  harmless  little 
animal,  yet,  in  a wide  stretch  of  country  in  Mississippi  and 
Alabama  estimated  at  not  less  than  a thousand  square 
miles,  these  crawfish  to  a very  considerable  extent  prevent 
the  successful  production  of  cotton  and  corn.^^  It  is  said 
that  large  fields  of  young  cotton  have  been  destroyed  in  a 
single  night.  The  great  losses  resulting  from  the  depre- 
dations of  these  different  animals,  together  with  the  fact 
that  such  dread  diseases  as  the  bubonic  plague  and  spotted 
fever  are  spread  by  some  of  them,  e.g.  rats  and  ground 
squirrels,  have  led  to  determined  efforts  toward  their  ex- 
termination.2^  ^ 

Decreasing  amount  of  wild  game.  — We  have  all  heard 
our  grandfathers  tell  of  the  abundance  of  wild  game  through- 
out the  United  States.  In  the  early  days,  this  was  one  of 
the  important  sources  of  the  food  supply,  but,  as  with  our 
other  resources,  no  thought  was  given  to  the  future,  and 
great  numbers  of  wild  birds,  as  well  as  of  fur-bearing  and 
meat-producing  wild  animals,  were  most  ruthlessly  destroyed. 

Examples. — The  wild  turkey,  which  furnished  the  colonists 
with  an  unfailing  supply  of  food,  is  now  found  only  in 
scattered  sections  of  the  South.  The  wild  pigeons,  quail, 
prairie  chickens,  and  various  species  of  grouse,  which  were 
once  so  plentiful,  have  entirely  disappeared  from  many 
parts  of  the  United  States,  and  are  found  in  greatly  reduced 
numbers  in  other  parts.  The  buffalo,  which  formerly  roamed 
the  United  States  in  such  numbers  from  central  New  York  to 
Oregon,  have  had  a most  tragic  history.  The  last  of  these 
east  of  the  Alleghanies  had  been  killed  by  1730 ; east  of  the 
Mississippi  by  about  1812.  By  1870  those  left  were  con- 
fined to  two  great  herds,  one  of  which  roamed  the  plains 
from  southern  Nebraska  to  Colorado  and  Texas,  while  the 


’ Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  347 

' other  ranged  from  Dakota  to  Montana  and  Wyoming.  In 
1897,  not  a buffalo  was  left  in  the  United  States  except  a 
; few  in  captivity.26  The  antelope,  elk,  moose,  and  deer 
i have  likewise  been  driven  from  one  section  after  another 
until  pow  they  are  found  within  comparatively  limited  areas. 
[ The  destruction  of  the  fur-bearing  animals  has  been  quite 
as  great.  The  securing  of  the  pelts  of  the  mink,  the  otter, 
j the  fox,  the  marten,  and  the  muskrat  has  become  in- 
creasingly difficult,  until  now  many  of  these  animals  are 
reared  in  captivity,  or  on  preserves  under  control  of  breeders. 
It  is  said  that  muskrat  farming  has  become  such  a prosperous 
, business  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  that  the  musk- 
rat marshes,  measured  by  actual  income  from  them,  are 
worth  more  than  cultivated  farms  in  the  same  vicinity.^^ 

1 The  story  of  the  fur  seal  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  furnishes 
another  striking  example  of  the  reckless  and  needless  waste 
j of  a most  valuable  natural  resource.  About  90  per  cent 
I of  all  the  fur  seal  skins  in  the  world  have  been  taken  from 
^ this  small  group  of  four  islands  in  the  Bering  Sea.  Through 

I political  maneuvering,  a commercial  company  secured  ex- 
* tended  privileges  and  began  systematic  exploitation  of  the 
islands.  Before  the  people  of  the  United  States  became 
aroused  to  the  situation,  these  most  valuable  fur-bearing  ani- 
mals had  become  almost  exterminated,  the  estimated  number 
of  seals  having  decreased  from  five  million  to  about  one  hun- 
^ dred  thousand.  Since  1911,  the  United  States  government 
has  refused  to  farm  out  these  islands,  and,  under  its  protec- 
tion, the  herds  are  now  rapidly  increasing.  Through  a little 
care  and  foresight,  the  extermination  has  been  checked,  and 
it  is  thought  that  this  industry  will  soon  net  the  govern- 
ment over  a million  dollars  annually.^^ 

Three  reasons  may  be  given  for  the  great  decrease  in  the 
game  of  the  country.^^  (1)  The  reckless  destroying  of  all 
kinds  of  wild  game  by  the  early  colonists.  “We  find  them 
selecting  haunches  of  venison  and  leaving  the  rest  of  the  car- 


348 


Social  Problems 


cass  to  the  dogs  and  beasts  of  prey;  giving  wild  geese  to 
their  dogs;  and  burning  cane-breaks,  thus  destroying  the 
haunts  of  many  game  animals  and  birds  merely  to  secure  a 
day’s  kill.  . . . Late  in  the  last  century  numbers  of  slain 
buffalo  were  left  to  rot  after  their  tongues  had  been  cuj  out.” 
' (2)  As  the  population  increased,  the  destruction  of  game 
for  commercial  purposes  became  a more  important  factor. 
Meadow  and  forest  were  depleted  6f  game,  and  the  streams 
were  depleted  of  fish  in  the  haste  for  big  profits. 

(3)  The  conversion  of  wild  into  cultivated  lands.  “ Forests 
have  given  away  to  plowed  fields,  meadows  have  been  tilled, 
and  swamps  have  been  drained.  These  places,  when  wild, 
furnish  suitable  homes  for  game  animals  and  birds,  and 
their  occupancy  by  man  has  permanently  reduced  the  styck 
of  game  by  depriving  it  of  available  shelter.” 

Legislative  restrictions.  — In  many  of  the  European 
countries  wild  game  furnishes  an  important  item  of  the  food 
supply.  Hunting  and  fishing  privileges  are  an  important 
source  of  government  revenues.  Wild  fish  and  game  may 
be  made  an  important  economic  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
people  through  the  utilization  of  forest  and  stream.  As  our 
wild  game  began  to  disappear,  we  came  to  recognize  this, 
and  the  several  states  tardily  passed  restrictive  laws. 
Methods  of  hunting  and  of  fishing  have  been  restricted. 
Hunting  or  fishing  in  the  season  of  reproduction  has  been 
prohibited.  The  amount  killed  or  captured  within  a given 
time  has  been  limited.  All  hunting  of  certain  species  has 
been  prohibited  for  a term  of  years.  Hunting  and  fishing 
licenses  are  now  required  by  many  of  the  states.  Fish  and 
game  preserves  are  set  aside  by  the  Federal  and  state  govern- 
ments. Game  birds  have  been  introduced  from  other  coun- 
tries, and  are  being  protected  for  a season  of  years.  The 
government  has  established  some  fifty-six  national  bird 
reservations,  and  has  prescribed  a perpetual  closed  season 
for  all  insectivorous  birds.^°  State  fish  hatcheries  have  been 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  349 

established  for  replenishing  the  streams.  In  these  various 
ways  we  are  attempting  not  only  to  prevent  the  extinction 
of  game  birds,  animals,  and  fish,  but  also,  in  the  case  of  many 
species,  to  replenish  the  supply. 

Other  savings  and  factors  in  increased  production.  — In 
many  ways  is  the  government  trying  to  aid  us  in  lessening 
waste  and  in  increasing  production. 

Warnings  of  flood  and  frost.  — Through  the  Weather 
Bureau,  warnings  of  frost  are  sent  to  the  cranberry  marshes 
and  to  the  fruit-raising  districts.  It  is  estimated  that  by 
such  timely  warnings,  at  least  $20,000,000  was  ‘saved  in  the 
one  year,  1912.  In  this  same  year,  the  Bureau  gave  flood 
warnings  which  resulted  in  a saving  of  some  $16,000,000 
worth  of  property.^i 

New  species  of  grains  and  fruits  introduced. — ■ The  Agri- 
cultural Department  has  sent  explorers  to  the  most  remote 
sections  of  the  world,  in  the  search  for  fruits  and  grains  that 
would  add  to  our  agricultural  wealth.  The  introduction  of 
the  short-kerneled  rice,  of  Swedish  barleys,  of  drought- 
resistant  durum  wheat,  and  of  Swedish  oats  has  greatly 
augmented  the  grain  production  in  the  different  sections. 
The  introduction  of  Sudan  grass,  of  African  Rhodes  grass, 
of  the  soy  bean,  and  of  Siberian  and  Peruvian  alfalfas  has 
greatly  increased  the  forage  crops  for  nearly  all  parts  of  the 
country.  The  bringing  in  of  the  seedless  grapes  from  Italy 
and  Greece,  of  the  Smyrna  fig,  of  the  Mexican  avocados, 
of  the  Chinese  wild  peach,  jujube  and  persimmon,  the  pis- 
tachio nut,  and  the. oriental  mango  has  given  us  valuable 
additions  to  the  nut  and  fruit  industry.  Many  of  these 
varieties  are  proving  much  hardier  than  the  local  varieties, 
are  better  able  to  withstand  -drought  and  extremes  of  tem- 
perature, and  not  only  yield  greater  returns,  but  are  also 
found  to  be  available  for  lands  which  were  formerly  thought 
to  be  unfit  for  cultivation. 

The  work  of  experiment  stations.  — In  the  many  state  and 


350 


Social  Problems 


federal  experiment  stations,  new  methods  are  being  worked 
out  by  which  the  crop  production  may  be  materially  in- 
creased. At  one  station,  a corn  was  developed  yielding  an 
average  of  twelve  bushels  more  per  acre  than  other  varieties ; 
a barley  yielding  five  bushels  more  per  acre ; a new  variety 
of  oats  producing  nine  bushels  more  per  acre  than  common 
varieties.^2  Another  station  established,  as  the  result  of 
some  twenty  years’  experimenting,  the  advantages  of  potato 
spraying,  showing  an  average  increase  in  yield  of  64  per 
cent  in  favor  of  spraying.^^  Many  other  extremely  valuable 
suggestion^  have  come  from  these  experiment  stations. 

Dissemination  of  information.  — One  of  the  most  essential 
things  for  increased  production  is  the  disseminating  of  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  the  methods  and  possibilities  of  increased 
production.  Perhaps  the  greatest  need  of  the  present  is 
to  utilize  the  information  that  has  already  been  made  avail- 
able by  our  scientists.  It  has  been  hard  to  arouse  the  people 
out  of  their  indifference  in  regard  to  these  wastes,  and  to 
bring  them  to  a realization  of  the  enormous  savings  that  could 
be  made  with  a little  care  and  attention.  However,  a re- 
markable awakening  is  taking  place  just  at  the  present  time. 
A new  interest  is  being  shown  in  conservation  and  in  all 
phases  of  agricultural  life.  Farmers’  clubs  are  being  or- 
ganized all  over  the  country.  In  1913,  over  sixty  thousand 
boys  and  girls  were  systematically  organized  into  boys’  corn 
clubs,  girls’  canning  clubs,  potato  clubs,  vegetable  garden 
clubs,  and  so  forth.^^  Experiment  farms  have  been  located  in 
many  sections,  and  demonstration  work  has  shown  the  possi- 
bilities of  crop  increase.  The  farmers’  institutes  and  the 
mass  of  printed  material  sent  out  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  are  great  factors  in  spreading  information  on 
agricultural  subjects.  The  remarkable  growth  in  the 
number  of  colleges  and  universities  offering  advanced  and 
research  work  in  agriculture  in  the  past  four  or  five  years, 
and  the  very  great  increase  in  the  number  of  secondary 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life  351 

schools  now  giving  instruction  in  agriculture,  bring  scientific 
knowledge  concerning  these  matters  within  the  reach  of  the 
mass  of  the  people. 

Possibilities  of  increased  'production.  — What  may  be 
accomplished  through  such  work  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
recent  reports  from  some  1500  farmers’  corn  clubs.  The 
average  yield  per  acre  of  all  the  corn  club  members  reporting 
was  74J  bushels,  and  426  members  averaged  a hundred 
bushels  or  more  per  acre,  while  the  average  yield  for  the  whole 
United  States  was  only  29.2  bushels.^^  The  importance  of 
this  difference  in  yield  may  be  realized,  when  we  consider 
that  the  older  European  countries  of  Germany  and  the 
United  Kingdom,  through  their  more  scientific  methods 
of  crop  rotation  and  fertilization,  are  averaging  35  and  32 
bushels  of  wheat,  respectively,  per  acre,  as  compared  with 
our  15  bushels  per  acre ; 61  and  45  bushels  of  oats,  respec- 
tively, as  compared  with  our  29  bushels ; 41  and  35  bushels 
of  barley,  respectively,  as  compared  with  our  24  bushels.  A 
still  greater  variation  is  found  in  the  yield  of  potatoes. 
The  average  yield  in  Germany  for  the  last  ten  years  was 
196  bushels  per  acre ; in  the  United  Kingdom  202  bushels ; 
while  in  the  United  States  the  yield  was  but  96  bushels. 

Conclusion.  — We  have  considered  some  of  the  economic 
losses  which  have  resulted  from  the  reckless  waste  of  our 
natural  resources,  the  wastes  due  to  the  destruction  of  plant 
and  animal  life,  as  well  as  some  of  the  methods  by  which, 
after  being  aroused  to  the  situation,  we  have  been  able  to 
check  these  wastes.  We  have  seen  some  of  the  possibilities 
whereby,  through  consistent  effort,  we  can  add  to  the  amount 
produced  within  the  country.  The  prejudice  with  which 
the  farmer  formerly  received  suggestions  from  the  govern- 
ment, resenting  the  interfe^nce  with  his  customary  methods, 
even  to  the  extent  of  attempting  to  blow  up  the  dipping 
tanks  with  dynamite,  and  of  driving  off  the  government 
agents  with  loaded  guns,^®  has  given  way  to  an  appreciation 


352 


Social  Problems 


of  what  the  government  is  doing  and  can  do  in  furthering 
his  interests.  As  a result,  we  are  beginning  to  have  a splen- 
did spirit  of  cooperation  between  the  farmer  and  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture;  and  not  only  the  farmer,  but  all 
classes  are  looking  to  the  men  of  science,  are  appreciating 
thfeir  suggestions,  and,  as  a result,  are  very  materially  adding 
to  the  country’s  annual  production.  In  this  way,  through 
the  elimination  of  unnecessary  wastes,  through  the  new  in- 
dustries opened  up,  and  through  the  increased  production 
per  unit  of  area,  the  producer  is  very  materially  benefited 
through  the  increased  returns  which  he  gets  for  his  labor, 
and  the  consumer,  through  the  increase  in  the  amount  of 
goods  available  for  consumption.  ^ 

QUESTIONS 

1.  From  what  two  view  points  may  we  consider  the  conserva- 
tion of  plant  and  animal  life  ? Explain  each. 

2.  How  is  our  indifference  accounted  for? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  diseases  which  have  affected 
our  cattle  industry?  Tell  about  the  losses  from  each  and  what 
has  been  done  to  prevent  these  losses, 

4.  Tell  about  the  losses  in  the  sheep  industry  and  the  success 
in  eliminating  these  losses. 

5.  Tell  about  the  losses  from  hog  cholera.  What  has  been 
done  to  cheek  this  disease? 

6.  Why  is  efficient  control  of  these  diseases  important  ? 

7.  What  is  the  estimated  annual  loss  to  the  farmers  due  to 
the  ravages  of  plant  diseases  and  insects  ? Give  an  account  of  the 
struggle  against  the  cotton-boll  weevil. 

8.  Tell  of  the  depredations  of  the  codling  moth.  Of  the  gypsy 
moth. 

9.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  losses  due  to  plant  diseases  ? 

10.  TeU  about  the  losses  due  to  the  depredations  of  animals. 

11.  Tell  about  the  decreasing  amount  of  wild  game. 

12.  What  reasons  are  given  for  the  great  decrease  in  the  game 
of  the  country? 

13.  How  are  we  attempting  to  cheek  this  decrease  ? 

14.  Give  an  example  of  the  savings  through  warnings  of  flood 
and  frost. 


Conservation  of  Plant  and  Animal  Life 


353 


15.  What  are  some  of  the  new  species  of  grains  and  fruits  that 
have  been  introduced  recently  ? 

16.  TeU  of  the  work  of  the  experiment  stations. 

17.  Tell  about  the  importance  and  the  methods  of  disseminating 
information  in  regard  to  the  possibilities  of  increased  production. 

18.  What  is  said  about  the  possibilities  of  increased  production  ? 

19.  Summarize  the  conclusion  to  this  chapter. 

REFERENCES 

1.  1913  Statistical  Abstract,  p.  229. 

2.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  19. 

3.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  345. 

4.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  20. 

5.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  166. 

6.  World’s  Work,  May,  1914,  p.  97. 

7.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  164. 

3.  World’s  Work,  May,  1914,  p.  98. 

9.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1913,  p.  268. 

10.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  168. 

11.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  165. 

12.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  169. 

13.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  99. 

14.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  163. 

15.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  198. 

16.  International  Year  Book,  Article  on  “Cotton.” 

17.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1911,  p.  237. 

18.  Bulletin  171,  Department  of  Agriculture. 

19.  World’s  Work,  May,  1914,  p.  93. 

20.  World’s  Work,  May,  1914,  p.  98. 

21.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  137. 

22.  Harper’s  Weekly,  May  30,  1914. 

23.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  81. 

24.  Van  Hise,  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources,  p.  340. 

25.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1911,  p.  322. 

26.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1910,  p.  247. 

27.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  80. 

28.  W.  D.  Boyce,  Alaska,  Present  and  Future,  p.  19. 

29.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1910,  p.  249. 

30.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  84. 

31.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  pp.  182-3. 

32.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  pp.  116  et  seq. 


354 


Social  Problems 


33.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  100. 

34.  Agricultural  Year  Book,  1913,  p.  61. 

35.  Statistical  Abstract,  1913. 

36.  World’s  Work,  May,  1914,  pp.  93  et  seq, 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Agricultural  Year  Books  give  accounts  of  losses  to  agriculture  from 
insect  pests,  blights,  and  animal  diseases,  and  methods  of 
combating  these. 

Bulletins  and  Special  Reports  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

I.  Safety. 

1.  General  significance. 

2.  National  organization  for  safety. 

3.  First-aid  work. 

4.  Railroad  organizations  for  safety. 

5.  Safety  in  mines. 

6.  Safety  in  factories. 

7.  Work  of  corporations  toward  safety » 

8.  State  control. 

9.  New  standards  for  coroner’s  office. 

II.  Industrial  diseases. 

1.  Definition. 

2.  Prevalence. 

3.  Lines  of  action  necessary. 
a.  Investigation. 

h.  Legislation, 
c.  Education  of  the  public. 

4.  Results  of  prevention. 

5.  Conclusions. 

III.  Infant  mortality. 

1.  Extent. 

2.  Rate  compared  with  other  countries, 

3.  Causes. 

4.  Combative  measures, 

5.  Public  sentiment. 

6.  National  association. 

7.  Signs  of  progress. 

8.  Children’s  bureau. 

IV.  Health  and  sanitation. 

1.  Diseases  classified. 

2.  Length  of  life. 

3.  Different  diseases. 

a.  Causes. 

b.  Methods  of  combating  each. 

355 


3S6 


Social  Problems 


4.  Needs  of  the  United  States. 

a.  Scientific  preventive  medicine. 
h.  Health  boards  and  experts. 

c.  Cooperation  of  the  people. 

d.  Eugenics. 

e.  Pure  food. 

V.  Conclusion. 


Safety.  — It  is  only  when  we  hear  of  some  great  accident 
or  disaster,  such  as  the  sinking  of  the  Empress  of  Ireland, 
the  Titanic,  or  the  Eastland,  or  the  Triangle  Shirtwaist  fire, 
that  we  awake  to  the  enormity  of  the  sacrifice  of  human 
life  in  our  country.  We  do  not  realize  what  a tremendous 
offering  of  lives  is  taken  every  day  and  every  hour,  the 
tolls  that  a country  pays  from  among  its  citizens  for  its  greed, 
its  hurry,  and  its  indifference.  According  to  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Labor,  there  are  thirty-five  thousand  work- 
men killed  and  two  million  workmen  injured  in  industrial 
accidents  every  year.  In  other  words,  there  is  one  death 
every  sixteen  minutes  of  every  day,  and  one  injury  every 
sixteen  seconds  to  the  workmen  in  our  American  industries.^ 
A conservative  estimate  of  the  economic  loss  in  this  country 
due  to  industrial  accidents  places  this  loss  at  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a billion  dollars  each  year,  or  ‘‘  more  than  two 
million  workmen  could  earn  in  a twelve-month,  at  four 
dollars  a day  apiece.’’  It  is  further  estimated  that  at  least 
half  of  these  accidents  might  be  avoided.  This  would  mean 

a saving  in  the  United  States,  each  year,  of  about  twenty 
thousand  lives ; the  prevention,  each  year,  of  a full  million 
of  bodily  injuries  of  varying  degrees;  and  the  money 
saving  of  $125,000,000  annually.”  ^ Such  figures  as  these 
make  it  plain  that  the  question  of  safety  is  an  important 
one  when  dealing  with  the  conservation  of  the  greatest  of  our 
resources,  human  life. 

General  significance.  — Dr.  Edward  Steiner,  who  has  inves- 
tigated conditions  among  the  working  people,  says,  “ A 


Conservation  of  Human  Life  357 

' nation  recovers  from  the  effects  of  war  when  there  are 
decades  of  peace,  but  when  that  war  is  without  end,  when  we 
. kill,  and  maim  ceaselessly,  we  may  never  recover.  The 

' nation’s  asset  is  its  working  strength,  no  more  its  fighting 

j strength.  We  must  guard  our  nation’s  first  asset,  the  life 

' and  limb  of  labor.”  ^ Accident  conditions  grew  so  bad, 

that  several  years  ago,  a country-wide  movement  was  started 
i to  remedy  them  in  so  far  as  was  possible.  This  new  crusade 
‘ for  “ safety  first  ” is  characterized  by  Graham  Taylor  ^ as 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  modern  world.  Usually  the  agita- 
tion starts  following  some  big  accident.  Such  agitation  has 
I recently  stirred  both  legislators  and  employers  to  action,  and 

; the  cooperation  of  these  with  safety  experts  is  one  of  the 

most  promising  movements  of  the  present  day. 

National  organization.  — There  has  been  a National 
' Council  of  Industrial  Safety  organized,  with  headquarters 
in  New  York  City,  which  serves  as  a general  clearing  house 
I for  suggestions  in  regard  to  safety  methods  and  appliances. 

One  authority  has  said  that  the  White  Cross,  the  national 
I organization  for  the  safety  of  industrial  workers,  promises 
to  be  an  even  greater  rescuer  of  life  and  limb  from  constant 
peril  than  the  Red  Cross  Society  can  be  at  occasional  na- 
! tional  disasters.^ 

First-aid  work.  — We  must  not  ignore  the  work  of  the  Red 
[ Cross,^  however,  for  besides  their  ministry  at  the  time  of 
accidents,  they  have  taken  up  the  more  fundamental  work 
expressed  by  their  watchword,  The  prevention  of  acci- 
dents and  the  prevention  of  infection.”  This  organization 
is  doing  constructive  safety  work  by  giving  what  they  call 
I first-aid  instruction.  This  consists  in  instructing  the  work- 
I men  regarding  the  dangers  of  their  work,  the  special  pre- 
I cautions  necessary  for  them  to  take,  and  the  “ first  aid  to 
the  injured  ” principles  which  have  saved  many  lives.  One 
mining  corporation  reports  that  before  the  introduction  of 
first-aid,  one  fatal  accident  occurred  to  every  ninety  thou- 


3S8 


Social  Problems 


sand  tons  of  coal  mined.  One  year  after  this  introduction, 
there  was  one  fatal  accident  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand tons  of  coal  mined;  and  three  years  afterward,  there 
was  only  one  fatal  accident  to  every  two  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  tons.  Statistics  from  other  countries  verify  these 
possibilities  in  accident  prevention,  and  speak  for  the 
efficiency  of  this  organization. 

Railroad  organizations  for  safety.  — Mr.  Ralph  E.  Richards 
started  the  movement  for  safety  among  railroaders,  in  his 
capacity  as  Chairman  of  the  Central  Safety  Committee  of 
the  Northwestern  road,  and  his  work  may  be  taken  as  typical 
of  the  most  advanced  work  for  “ safety  first.”  By  a practical 
and  suggestive  campaign,  this  company,  during  the  first 
twenty  months  of  its  campaign,  succeeded  in  reducing 
the  number  of  employees  killed  by  29  per  cent ; the  number 
of  employees  injured  by  31  per  cent ; the  number  of  pas- 
sengers killed  by  36  per  cent ; and  the  number  of  passengers 
injured  by  16  per  cent.®  This  is  the  result  of  less  than  two 
years’  work,  but  a material  decrease  in  accidents  is  shown. 
From  1910  to  1912,  forty-seven  other  railroads  started  to 
use  these  same  safety  methods,  which  means  that  over 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  miles  of  road  are  now 
attempting  to  work  out  this  problem.®  The  golden  rule  of 
the  railroads  must  be,  “It  is  better  to  cause  delay  than  to 
cause  an  accident.”  As  an  illustration  of  the  laxity  of  our 
law  enforcement  we  have  these  figures : during  the  last  ten 
years  in  the  United  States,  50,025  trespassers  were  killed, 
53,427  were  injured ; while  in  Great  Britain,  notwithstand- 
ing their  denser  population,  only  4435  trespassers  were 
killed  and  1319  injured.'^ 

Mr.  Richards  found,  in  his  study  of  the  problem,  that  it 
was  not  alone  through  the  use  of  mechanical  devices  for 
safety  that  the  loss  of  life  on  the  railroads  could  be  stopped, 
but  that  the  active  cooperation  and  assistance  of  the  men 
who  are  being  injured  must  be  gained,  before  any  plan  for 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


359 


the  prevention  of  accidents  can  be  a success.  Many  acci- 
dents are  directly  traceable  to  the  negligence  and  indiffer- 
ence of  the  high  official,  but  of  those  due  to  the  workmen 
about  one  half  are  said  to  be  due  to  ignorance  and  one 
half  to  carelessness.  This  expert  outlined  and  has  followed 
this  plan,  in  his  campaign  against  ignorance  and  carelessness 
on  the  part  of  the  workmen  : ^ 

(1)  Inspection  of  different  shops  and  trains  by  inspectors, 
foremen,  and  committees  of  workmen  on  full  pay.  Men 
from  one  department  are  often  able  to  see  defects  in  another 
department  when  they  are  unable  to  see  them  in  their  own. 

(2)  Careful  instruction  of  the  workmen  in  regard  to  the 
dangers  of  their  occupation. 

(3)  Proper  supervision  of  the  men  engaged  in  dangerous 
work. 

(4)  Discipline  of  the  men  who  refuse  to  cooperate  in 
promoting  safety. 

(5)  Boosters’  meetings,  with  committees  of  workmen  on 
specific  problems. 

(6)  Caps,  buttons,  and  other  insignia  displaying  the 
“ Safety  First  ” sign,  and  bulletins  notifying  employees  of 
the  progress  in  the  safety  movement,  calling  their  attention 
to  recent  accidents,  their  causes,  and  the  ways  to  prevent 
them. 

There  is  much  work  involved  in  the  carr3dng  out  of  this 
plan,  but  it  means  to  the  employer  increased  efficiency,  and 
to  the  men,  increased  safety.  The  results  are  summed  up 
by  Mr.  Richards : ® “ Does  it  mean  a saving  to  any  rail- 
road to  have  in  twenty  months  152  fewer  death  claims,  and 
4845  fewer  injury  claims  to  settle  than  it  had  the  preced- 
ing twenty  months  ? It  pays  in  dollars  and  cents  as  well  as 
from  a humanitarian  point  of  view.” 

Of  the  thirty  five  thousand  accidental  deaths  and  two 
million  injuries  which  the  Bureau  of  Labor  estimates  occur 
each  year,  about  ten  thousand  deaths  and  two  hundred  thou- 


360 


Social  Problems 


sand  injuries  can  be  directly  traced  to  the  railroads^®  Over 
half  of  the  injuries  are  due  to  accidents  in  shops,  not  involv- 
ing the  operation  of  trains.  Even  when  employers  and 
employees  are  consciously  working  for  safety,  there  are 
still  many  chances  for  human  error.  One  of  the  big 
problems  for  railroads  as  well  as  other  industries  is,  then, 
the  reducing  of  the  chance  for  human  error  to  a mini- 
mum. Automatic  control  will  come,  for  the  operation 
of  trains,  but  meanwhile  workmen  must  be  selected  and 
educated  in  their  work.  Rules  have  too  often  been  make- 
shifts. They  must  be  carefully  made  and  strictly  obeyed 
if  we  would  reduce  this  chance  for  human  error  consistently. 
The  railroad  magnates  must  be  awakened  to  this  trend  of 
the  times  toward  safety,  by  public  sentiment,  or  by  law. 

Safety  in  the  mines.  — The  problem  of  safety  in  the 
mines  has  to  do  almost  exclusively  with  the  people  in  that  one 
industry.  For  the  past  several  years,  nearly  three  thousand 
men  have  been  killed  annually  in  the  coal  mines  of  the  United 
States.  Of  these  only  15  per  cent  are  killed  in  the  great 
disasters  that  come  to  our  notice,  and  50  per  cent  are  killed 
in  minor  accidents,  just  one  or  two  at  a time,  and  the  inci- 
dents are  passed  by  without  notice. In  1907,  the  number 
killed  was  4.8  to  every  thousand  employed  in  the  coal 
mines  of  the  United  States.  In  that  same  year  the  rate 
in  Germany  was  2.5,  in  France  1.1,  and  in  the  United  King- 
dom 1.3.  Since  then  we  have  reduced  the  rate  here  to 
3.1,  but  we  are  still  far  behind  other  countries.^^  In  a study 
of  conditions  in  the  coal  mines  of  our  country.  Dr.  Joseph 
A.  Holmes,  late  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  finds  that 
of  the  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  working  in 
the  coal  mines,  less  than  50  per  cent  speak  any  English 
at  all,  and  75  per  cent  know  almost  nothing  about  our  laws 
and  customs.^^  Safety  goes  back  to  living  conditions.  He 
suggests  that  the  solution  of  the  accident  problem  in  the 
mines  is  to  Americanize  and  educate  the  miners. 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


361 


Certain  specific  measures  have  been  found  helpful  in 
dealing  with  the  problem.  The  first-aid  training  has  already 
been  mentioned.  The  Federal  Bureau  of  Mines  has  in  opera- 
tion six  mine  safety  stations,  and  seven  mine  safety  cars,  scat- 
tered among  the  mining  districts.  Permanent  safety  commit- 
tees have  been  organized  among  the  miners  themselves,  and 
campaigns  for  safety  propagation  conform  quite  strictly  to 
the  plan  quoted  above  in  connection  with  the  railroads. 
Inspection  is  being  increased,  and  inspectors  must  be  im- 
partial investigators,  while  at  the  same  time  they  must  be 
equipped  to  give  expert  constructive  advice. 

One  coal  and  iron  company  has  established  a rigid  system 
of  timbering,  requiring  timbers  set  at  four-foot  intervals,  to 
eliminate  the  numerous  petty  accidents  caused  by  the  falling 
of  roofs.  If  one  hundred  be  taken  as  the  number  of  men 
killed  per  million  tons  mined  in  1908,  this  reduced  the  num- 
' ber  in  1909  to  76.7,  and  in  1911  to  45.8.  This  is  a reduc- 

! tion  of  54  per  cent  during  these  years,  and  is  a good  ex- 

I ample  of  the  results  of  a little  preventive  care.^^  Attempts 
are  being  made  to  compel  the  use  of  permissible,  or  tested, 
explosives  in  place  of  the  old  black  powder  and  dyna- 
i mite  formerly  used  in  blasting.  Electric  shot  firing  is  very 
I strongly  advocated,  although  very  few  mines  have  adopted 
it.  Attention  is  being  directed  to  the  shielding  of  machinery 
and  to  the  protecting  of  electric  wires.  The  newer  mines 
are  being  made  in  strict  accordance  with  the  latest  methods 
of  concrete  construction.  A checking  system  for  the  men 
serves  to  locate  those  left  in  the  mine  at  the  time  of  shot 
firing  or  disaster.  These  improvements  are  some  that  have 
been  in  use  in  certain  mines,  and  are  strongly  recommended 
for  all  of  them.  Some  mine  owners  have  not  advanced 
so  far  in  this  work  as  have  others,  but  the  reports  from 
the  different  sections  indicate  that  people  are  becoming 
awake  to  conditions,  and  that  advance  will  be  made  in  the 
next  two  or  three  years  through  the  legislatures  of  the 


362 


Social  Problems 


several  mining  states.  The  time  is  ripe  for  federal  legislation 
which  shall  follow  the  lines  indicated  by  the  investigations 
of  the  Bureau  of  Mines. 

Safety  in  factories.  — The  National  Association  of  Manu- 
facturers has  taken  a great  deal  of  interest  in  the  subject 
of 'accident  prevention.  For  four  years,  it  has  had  a Com- 
mittee for  Accident  Prevention  and  Workmen’s  Com- 
pensation. An  estimate  of  the  economic  loss  in  this  country 
through  industrial  accidents  places  it  at  more  than  a quarter 
of  a billion  of  dollars  each  year.  The  rule  of  the  factory 
must  be,  “It  is  better  to  be  careful  than  to  be  crippled.” 
Different  manufacturers  vary  in  their  estimates  of  the 
extent  to  which  industrial  accidents  can  be  prevented. 
However,  they  are  practically  agreed  that  from  50  to  75 
per  cent  of  the  accidents  in  factories  are  avoidable.^^  The 
great  source  of  accidents  is  unprotected  machinery.  Long 
hours,  and  the  monotony  of  the  work  under  systems  of  minute 
division  of  labor,  resulting  in  fatigue  and  carelessness,  add 
to  the  probability  of  accidents.  Social  legislation  in  the 
last  few  years  has  concerned  itself  more  than  ever  before 
with  the  factory  worker,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  discussion  of 
state  control. 

Work  of  corporations  toward  safety.  — Some  of  our  large 
corporations  have  begun  to  recognize  the  yearly  toll  of 
industry,  and  have  taken  measures  looking  toward  reducing 
the  number  of  deaths  and  injuries  in  their  particular  indus- 
tries. The  steel  corporations  are  among  those  taking  the 
lead  in  accident  prevention  work.  An  attorney  for  one  steel 
company  says  that  the  keynote  of  all  efforts  for  the  pre- 
vention of  accident  will  be  “ organization.”  He  has  made 
a detailed  study  of  accidents  and  classifies  them  as:  (1) 
preventable  — those  due  to  the  .failure  of  the  employer 
to  do  his  duty,  and  those  due  to  the  ignorance  or  carelessness 
of  the  employee  — and  (2)  unpreventable.  The  accidents  of 
the  first  class  are  the  ones  we  must  study  and  anticipate  in 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


363 


so  far  as  is  possible.  According  to  this  attorney,  the  leaven 
of  the  safety  movement  must  begin  at  the  top  and  work  down. 
The  foreman  is  the  most  important  man  in  the  movement. 
He  can  secure  safety  in  three  ways,  by  making  and  enforcing 
rules,  by  keeping  safety  before  the  men  constantly,  and  by 
gaining  the  cooperation  of  the  men.  The  aids  used  in  the 
steel  industry  are  the  same  as  in  the  others,  safety  buttons 
and  signs,  bulletin  boards,  moving  pictures,  and  lectures. 

Injuries  to  the  eyes  are  especially  prevalent  in  the  steel 
industry.  The  dangers  to  the  workmen  come  from  the 
flying  chips.  To  protect  a man  from  the  dangers  of  his 
own  work,  the  foreman  must  secure  proper  goggles  for  him, 
and  see  that  they  are  worn.  Screens  must  be  placed  be- 
tween the  workmen  to  protect  them  from  each  other’s  work. 
During  the  last  half  of  1910,  6.5  per  cent  of  the  men  in  the 
American  Steel  Foundries  had  their  eyes  injured.  In  the 
last  half  of  1912,  1.6  per  cent  were  so  injured.  By  the  use 
of  the  aforementioned  preventive  measures,  accidents  were 
reduced  in  two  years  time  75  per  cent.^® 

State  control.  — Turning  from  individual  action  to  state 
action,  we  find  organizations  perhaps  not  so  highly  devel- 
oped, and  often  hampered  by  politics,  but  organizations 
just  in  the  beginning  of  their  growth,  giving  promise  of 
consistent  work  in  the  near  future.  In  Minnesota, the 
Labor  Bureau  has  been  interested  in  the  prevention  of 
accidents  for  several  years.  In  1909,  an  investigation 
conducted  by  this  department  revealed  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  year  over  ten  thousand  non-fatal,  and  three  hundred 
and  forty-two  fatal,  accidents  occurred.  Increased  efforts 
toward  prevention  in  three  years  reduced  the  fatal  acci- 
dents 50  per  cent,  the  non-fatal  29  per  cent.  Minnesota 
is  one  of  the  states  where  the  efficiency  in  prevention 
work  is  greatly  lessened  because  of  the  change  of  those 
in  charge  of  the  work  with  the  frequent  changes  in  ad- 
ministration. Politicians  have  had  these  offices  for  many 


3^4 


Social  Problems 


years,  and  they  were  not  experts,  neither  were  they  vitally 
interested  in  their  work.  Experts  have  been  engaged  for 
this  work  only  the  last  few  years,  but  probably  Minnesota 
now  has  the  next  best  prevention  department  to  that  of 
Wisconsin.^* 

' New  Jersey  has  been  concentrating  her  efforts  on  a partic- 
ular phase  of  prevention  work,  that  of  eliminating  the  loss 
of  life  and  injuries  in  fires.  This  is  done  by  enforcing  the 
use  of  improved  fire  apparatus,  escapes,  extinguishers, 
fire  drills,  electric  alarms,  and  by  appointing  one  of  the 
workmen  in  each  factory  as  fire  chief  of  that  factory.^^ 
The  Illinois  department  of  factory  inspection  is  supposed 
to  enforce  labor  laws,  to  prevent  accidents,  and  to  protect 
industrial  workers.  With  the  limited  amount  of  money, 
and  the  few  men  allowed  it  for  these  multiple  duties,  this 
state  commission  is  doing  a good  work,  one  which  is  broad 
and  well  organized.  It  serves  to  illustrate  another  weakness 
of  most  of  these  state  departments.  There  are  too  many 
duties  for  the  men  employed,  — too  much  work  for  one 
department,  which,  when  well  organized,  can  do  Ijttle  more 
than  keep  in  touch  with  the  various  lines  which  it  ought  to 
dominate. New  York,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Massachusetts 
are  other  states  which  have  advanced  far  enough  in  this  work 
to  deserve  mention. 

The  Wisconsin  Commission  represents  the  most  advanced 
method  of  doing  this  work,  although  the  method  cannot  be 
recommended  to  every  state.  They  proceed  on  the  theory 
that  when  a workman  suffers  from  an  accident,  the  employer 
must  suffer  in  the  way  most  surely  to  teach  him  the  care 
due  his  employee,  which  is  through  his  dividend.  C.  H. 
Crownhart,  Chairman  of  the  Wisconsin  Industrial  Com- 
mission, says,  “ There  is  no  statute  which  will  efficiently 
safeguard  the  worker  except  such  as  automatically  provides 
the  penalty  for  the  employer  for  each  and  every  injury  re- 
ceived in  the  work  places,  as  the  result  of  an  accident.” 


Conservation  of  Human  Life  365 

This  policy  has  led  to  an  increased  effort  among  manufac- 
turers, for  safety ; and  whereas  the  factory  inspector  used 
to  compel  safety  with  a big  stick,  now  the  office  of  the 
Commission  is  to  point  the  way  to  safety,  — the  employer 
will  do  the  rest.  The  cooperation  of  manufacturers  is  a 
necessity  for  good  safety  work.  The  one  rule  that  has  been 
emphasized  by  the  Commission  from  the  beginning  is  that 
every  order,  every  rule  which  is  issued,  must  be  based  not 
on  theory,  but  on  actual  practice.  This  Industrial  Com- 
mission has  become  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  plan  of 
working  out  the  problem  through  experience,  and  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  manufacturers,  is  the  best  plan  to  get  results. 

The  reports  of  the  Safety  Congress  have  been  most  valuable 
• in  presenting  statistics  of  past  casualties,  and  in  suggesting 
ways  of  preventing  many  of  these  casualties  in  the  future. 
Not  more  than  one  third  of  the  reduction  in  accidents  is 
due  to  mechanical  appliances.  Two  thirds  are  due  to  or- 
ganization and  education.22  We  have  found  that  with  in- 
dustrial accidents  playing  so  great  a part  in  our  country’s 
life  as  they  do,  conservation,  besides  being  just  and  humane, 
pays  in  dollars  and  cents. 

New  standards  for  the  coroner’s  office.  — Before  concluding 
this  phase  of  the  subject,  it  may  be  well  to  mention  a phase 
of  prevention  work  which  has  lately  come  before  the  atten- 
tion of  many  people. Coroner  Peter  Hoffman  of  Chicago 
found  recently  that  during  eight  year.s  of  service,  there  had 
been  thirty-eight  thousand  twenty  inquests  in  Cook  County. 
The  number  was  appalling,  and  he  started  a movement  for 
the  prevention  of  those  circumstances  leading  to  such  a state 
of  affairs.  He  appointed  a Public  Safety  Committee  of 
Chicago  and  Cook  County  of  sixty  men  from  representative 
industries.  They  were  united  for  the  study  and  prevention 
of  casualties  arising  from  fires,  railways,  trolleys,  street 
traffic,  drowning,  asphyxiation,  suicide,  homicide,  and  the 
different  industrial  occupations.  There  were  subcommittees 


366 


Social  Problems 


on  safety  devices,  on  the  supervision  of  the  construction  of 
buildings,  on  publicity,  and  education.  The  last  two  were 
the  first  to  get  to  work.  In  the  line  of  publicity,  five  hundred 
and  thirty-four  publications  in  twenty-nine  languages,  having 
eighteen  million  readers,  offered  their  columns  for  safety 
propaganda.  The  educational  committee  furnishes  volun- 
teer speakers  who  carry  on  a regular  campaign  for  safety 
among  the  pupils  of  the  schools  in  the  city  and  county. 

Mr.  Hoffman  has  done  great  good  to  the  country  in  calling 
attention  to  these  conditions  and  he  has  set  a new  and  a 
high  standard  for  the  office  of  coroner. 

Industrial  diseases.  — Definition.  — Those  diseases  which 
are  contracted  in,  or  caused  by,  certain  work  or  conditions 
of  labor,  are  called  occupational  or  industrial  diseases.. 
There  are  few  diseases  so  little  understood  as  are  these.  As 
one  writer  has  aptly  put  it,  “ We  know  what  men  do  to 
things,  — but  we  do  not  know  what  things  do  to  men.” 
The  first  definite  action  taken  toward  investigating  work- 
ing conditions  leading  to  occupational  diseases  was  when 
Governor  Deneen  of  Illinois  appointed  a commission  of 
economists  and  doctors  to  collect  data  on  the  lead  poisoning 
industries  of  that  state,  in  1909.^^  Dr.  Alice  Hamilton  was 
the  investigator,  and  her  findings  were  made  known  widely 
throughout  the  country,  stirring  up  the  first  widespread  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  fact  that  certain  industries  did  tend 
to  give  their  workers,  certain  and  specified  diseases.  Since 
1909,  the  attention  of  the  public  has  become  more  and  more 
centered  on  this  great  subject,  and  this  interest  has  led  to 
a National  Conference  on  Industrial  Diseases. 

Prevalence.  — The  United  States  has  fallen  far  behind 
several  other  countries  in  conserving  the  lives  of  her  workers. 
Statistics  are  not  available  to  any  great  measure,  merely 
because  the  United  States  has  no  uniform  manner  of  ta,king 
them  on  this  subject.  The  number  of  cases  of  lead  poison- 
ing in  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  Austria  was  formerly 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


367 


as  great  as  it  is  in  the  United  States,  but  these  countries 
became  aroused  to  the  situation,  and  through  careful  govern- 
mental regulation  succeeded  in  cutting  down  the  number  of 
cases  to  from  one  tenth  to  one  twentieth  of  what  it  had 
been  ten  years  previous.  Several  of  the  large  smelters  in 
these  countries  now  have  an  average  of  less  than  two  cases 
of  lead  poisoning  among  every  hundred  men  employed.  In 
the  United  States  it  is  estimated  that  the  rate  of  lead  poison- 
ing in  the  smelting  industry  is  at  least  22  per  cent,  or  about 
ten  times  what  it  is  in  Great  Britain  or  Germany Our 
method  is  cheaper  for  the  manufacturer,  but  it  is  a tre- 
mendous accusation  to  bring  against  our  people,  that  they 
care  no  more  than  this  for  hunian  life. 

Lines  of  action  necessary.  — The  necessary  lines  of  action 
in  dealing  with  this  problem  seem  to  be  the  following : 

(1)  Proper  investigation  and  understanding  of  the  facts 
leading  to  occupational  diseases. 

(2)  Laws  dealing  with  specific  remedies,  prepared  by 
competent  commissions. 

(3)  The  enforcement  of  these  laws  by  an  enlightened 
public. 

The  trained  investigator  has  found  out  that  many  diseases 
we  always  thought  were  natural  diseases  are  the  result  of 
certain  occupations.  In  the  lead  factories  men  are  poisoned 
by  doing  the  dry  rubbing  in  the  finishing  process,  by  eating 
with  paint-covered  hands,  and  by  inhaling  the  lead  fumes. 
In  Germany  dry  rubbing  is  not  allowed,  and  manufacturers 
are  compelled  to  supply  suitable  places  where  the  men  can 
wash.  For  the  lack  of  several  simple  regulations  of  this 
kind,  we  are  letting  these  workers  be  poisoned ; we  are 
sitting  by  while  paralysis  overtakes  them,  — a slowly  moving 
disease  of  the  blood  vessels  which  eventually  leads  to  the 
heart,  or  causes  insanity,  and,  in  extreme  cases,  death. 
More  is  known  about  this  disease  than  about  some  others 
of  like  nature  because  attention  has  been  centered  .on  it  in 


368 


Social  Problems 


recent  investigations,  but  there  are  many  others  quite  as 
serious. 

The  “ Phossy-jaw  ” which  was  the  result  to  the  workers 
with  phosphorus,  is  the  only  occupational  disease  regarding 
which  our  national  government  has  made  any  law.  In 
April,  1912,  Congress  passed  a law  placing  a prohibitive  tax 
on  poisonous  phosphorus  matches.^'^  There  are  diseases 
due  to  working  as  a printer  or  stereotyper,  as  a plumber, 
an  electrician,  or  a cutter  of  glass.  Brass,  arsenic,  and  mer- 
cury are  each  accompanied  by  dire  effects  to  those  who 
work  with  them.  And  some  of  the  worst  occupational 
diseases  are  due  to  the  presence  of  dirt  or  filth  in  the  working 
room,  to  bad  ventilation  or  cramped  positions  while  working, 
to  excessive  direct  light,  to  lack  of  light,  to  extreme  conditions 
of  heat  or  cold  or  humidity,  and  to  air  compression  and 
rarefaction.  This  last  case  is  illustrated  by  the  workers 
in  tunnels  or  in  underground  passages  where  compressed 
air  is  necessary.  The  harm  copes  from  passing  too  quickly 
from  the  compressed  air  to  the  open  air.  The  result  is  a 
disease  called  the  bends.  There  were  three  thousand  six 
hundred  and  ninety-two  cases  of  compressed  air  illness  in 
one  job,  the  East  River  Tunnel.^^  This  means  that  even 
this  one  kind  of  occupational  disease  alone  is  a menace 
worth  cpnsidering. 

In  thus  reviewing  these  different  occupations,  we  must  not 
forget  that  it  is  the  weaker  and  poorer  of  our  people  who  are 
forced  to  work  in  these  poisonous  industries,  because,  in  the 
necessity  for  work  of  some  kind,  they  cannot  help  them- 
selves. It  is  the  duty  of  those  who  are  better  fitted  to  see 
that  such  conditions  do  not  prevail.  Hence  laws  are  neces- 
sary. The  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation 
drafted  a bill  intended  I^o  meet  the  requirements  of  the  situa- 
tion in  so  far  as  it  was  possible.  Eight  states  have  passed 
this  bill,  and  several  others  have  passed  laws  similar  in  certain 
particulars.^^ 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


369 


For  the  lessening  of  lead  poisoning  there  must  be  regula- 
tions against  dry  rubbing,  for  cleanliness  on  the  part  of  the 
workers,  for  the  elimination  of  lead  dust  in  approved  ways, 
and  for  the  wearing  of  respirators  by  the  workers.  For  the 
compressed  air  illness,  regulations  should  be  made  forcing 
employers  to  take  care  whom  they  employ,  to  have  the  right 
ventilation,  and  to  use  the  approved  methods  of  decompres- 
sion with  the  aid  of  medical  experts.  Regulations  should  be 
made  concerning  excessive  humidity  in  workrooms,  or 
extreme  cold  or  heat.  Excessive  light  and  bad  ventilation 
should  also  be  guarded  against.  One  reason  why  statistics 
cannot  be  gathered  is  that  our  classification  of  industrial 
diseases  is  so  inadequate.  What  we  need  first,  then,  is  a 
uniform  classification  of  industrial  diseases  and  harmful 
substances,  so  that  reports  may  be  uniform.  With  diseases 
reported  under  their  right  names,  and  full  publicity  given 
to  the  results,  laws,  and  specific  laws,  ought  not  to  be  far 
behind.  When  industrial  diseases  are  recognized  and  rec- 
ompensed as  injuries  received  in  industry,  then  the  solution 
X of  the  problem  will  not  be  far  off.  Having  investigated 
and  made  laws,  the  task  is  not  done ; for  the  education  of 
the  public,  the  enlightenment  of  both  the  employer  and  the 
employee,  plays  a very  important  part  in  the  solution  of  the 
problem.  Laws  can  be  evaded  by  employers  and  workmen. 
They  thus  lose  their  efficiency.  It  is  of  no  use  for  a law  to 
compel  manufacturers  of  white  lead  to  provide  respirators 
for  the  workers,  if  the  manufacturer  pawns  off  a cheap,  in- 
efficient kind  on  the  workman  or  if  the  workman  refuses  to 
wear  them  when  provided.  We  must  have  trained  inspectors 
to  see  that  the  laws  are  enforced.  Then  we  must  educate 
the  employer  and  the  workman,  and,  lastly,  we  must  waken 
the  public  to  a knowledge  of  the  situation.  M.  G.  Overlock, 
State  Inspector  of  Health  in  Massachusetts,  says,  “ The 
prevention  of  such  diseases  must  be  brought  about  by  a 
systematic  course  of  education,  with  the  cooperation  of 


370 


Social  Problems 


numerous  agencies  at  our  command.  These  agencies, 
taken  in  order,  should  be,  first,  medical  colleges;  second, 
industrial  clinics;  third,  industrial  hygiene  exhibits,  both 
museums  and  traveling  exhibits ; fourth,  publicity,  by  means 
of  lectures,  leaflets,  and  posted  warnings.”  ^ 

Results  of  'prevention.  — That  prevention  is  possible  has 
been  proved  by  what  has  been  accomplished  in  other  coun- 
tries. Many  examples  could  be  given  in  our  own  country, 
where  the  results  have  more  than  justified  the  means  used 
for  the  prevention  of  occupational  diseases.  Attention  is 
called  to  only  one  of  these.  The  Pullman  company  had 
seventy-three  cases  of  lead  poisoning  in  their  shops  in  the 
month  of  August,  1911.  Since  then,  they  have  adopted  the 
approved  measures  for  the  prevention  of  lead  poisoning, 
and  for  the  four  months  preceding  June,  1912,  they  had  not 
one  case.^^ 

Conclusions.  — The  workers  in  these  occupations  are  often 
immigrants  or  men  of  a weaker  class  who  do  not  know  the 
conditions  into  which  they  are  going.  Because  a man  does 
not  know  about  them  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be  allowed 
to  work  at  any  occupation  which  may  injure  him  bodily, 
which  may  kill  and  maim  his  children,  or  which  may  grad- 
ually make  him  abnormal,  or  insane,  or  an  incurable  invalid 
without  means  of  support.  Some  manufacturers  have 
realized  their  responsibilities,  and  on  their  own  initiative 
have  bettered  working  conditions.  Others  must  be  com- 
pelled to  do  the  same.  The  worker  must  be  guaranteed 
sanitary  conditions  under  which  to  gain  his  living,  and  must 
be  taught  the  consequences  of  overlooking  the  slightest 
precautions.  The  pilblic  must  become  aroused  to  these 
dangers  in  industry,  must  be  shown  what  other  countries 
are  accomplishing  in  the  elimination  of  occupational  diseases, 
and  must  make  and  enforce  such  laws  as  will  eliminate  these 
evils  in  our  own  country. 

Infant  mortality.^^  _ care  that  a people  takes  of  its 


371 


i 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


children  may  well  be  said  to  be  an  index  of  the  character 
of  that  people.  The  savage  nations  believed  that  great 
numbers  of  children  were  a burden,  and  should  be  gotten 
rid  of  in  one  way  or  another.  But  ours  is  a civilized  nation, 
and,  as  we  like  to  say,  a Christian  nation.  As  such,  we  can- 
not allow  the  conditions  now  prevailing  to  remain.  We 
have  been  shocked  by  great  mine  disasters,  by  monstrous 
mishaps  at  sea.  Fifteen  hundred  lives  lost  on  the  Titanic 
at  one  time  stirred  the  heart  of  the  nation,  but  one  hundred 
and  fifty  times  that  many  infant  lives  are  lost  every  year  in 
our  country  alone,  and  people  look  on  with  complacency. 

Extent.  — Because  of  the  lack  of  an  adequate  system  of 
taking  statistics  on  this  subject  in  our  country,  the  numbers 
for  the  United  States  are  marked  “ approximately  ” in 
nearly  all  the  data  collected.  The  American  Association 
for  the  Prevention  of  Infant  Mortality  has  done  some  very 
careful  estimating,  and  has  compiled  the  most  reliable 
data  available.  This  Association  estimates  that  two  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  children  under  one  year  of  age  die 
every  year  in  the  United  States. 

Rate,  compared  with  other  countries.  — Other  civilized 
countries  have  much  more  to  boast  of  in  the  result  of  their 
child-saving  work  than  we  have.  Out  of  one  thousand 
births,  the  following  number  of  children  will  die  in  the  va- 
rious countries  during  their  first  year.®^ 


Russia  . . . . 

German  Empire  . 

Spain 

United  States  . . 

Japan  

France  . . . . 

Canada  . . . . 

Great  Britain  . . 

Sweden  . . . . 

Norway  . . . . 

New  Zealand  . . 


263  of  every  thousand 
197  of  every  thousand 
170  of  every  thousand 
165  of  every  thousand 
153  of  every  thousand 
148  of  every  thousand 
140  of  every  thousand 
139  of  every  thousand 
96  of  every  thousand 
86  of  every  thousand 
76  of  every  thousand 


372 


Social  Problems 


For  all  our  boasted  enlightenment  and  civilization,  condi- 
tions prevail  here  which  cause  the  death  of  from  two  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  to  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
infants  every  year,  and  of  these  deaths  Irving  Fisher  says 
that  “ at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  need 
not  have  occurred  if  modern  hygiene  as  it  is  known  to-day 
were  universally  practiced.”  The  number  of  children  dying 
in  their  first  year,  constitutes  nearly  a fifth  of  the  total 
number  of  deaths  in  the  United  States.^®  This  means  that  at 
least  one  child  out  of  every  seven  dies  before  reaching  the 
age  of  one  year. 

Causes.  — In  searching  for  the  causes  of  infant  mortality, 
there  are  two  main  items  to  be  considered,  which  may  be 
called  • the  two  inclusive  causes : poverty,  producing  in- 
sanitary and  adverse  conditions  for  the  child’s  growth; 
and  ignorance,  the  most  widespread  and  deadly  cause. 
Another  classification  of  the  reasons  for  infant  mortality, 
which  lays  emphasis  rather  on  the  conditions  leading  to 
this  state  of  affairs,  is  as  follows  : 

Ignorant  or  indifferent  mothers. 

Lack  of  leisure  for  mothers  to  give  the  proper  care. 

Irresponsible  fatherhood. 

Disregard  of  personal  or  baby  hygiene. 

Bad  housing. 

Questionable  industrial  methods. 

Imperfect  or  inadequate  supervision  of  the  milk  supply. 

Either  inadequate  sanitary  laws,  or  a failure  to  enforce 
them. 

Combative  measures.  — The  methods  which  have  been 
found  effective  in  reducing  infant  mortality  are : (1)  the 
prompt  registration  of  births  to  secure  both  reliable  state- 
ments of  infantile  mortality  in  relation  to  the  number  of 
births,  and  the  earliest  chance  to  prevent  certain  infantile 
diseases ; (2)  the  improvement  of  social  conditions ; (3) 

public  control  of  sources  of  infection;  (4)  education  for 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


373 


parenthood  ; (5)  education  of  mothers  in  the  essentials  of 
personal  hygiene,  of  infant  hygiene,  and  of  infant  feeding; 
(6)  estabhshment  of  milk  stations  for  the  sale  or  distribution 
of  clean  milk.  The  aforementioned  Association  believes 
that  through  these  measures  the  present  death  rate  can  be 
cut  down  at  least  one  half. 

Public  sentiment.  — The  first  step  in  any  campaign  of 
prevention  is  the  creation  of  a healthy,  enlightened,  public 
sentiment.  Measures  have  been  taken  toward  this  end  in 
several  countries  during  the  last  few  years.  France  was  the 
leader  in  trying  to  reduce  the  death  rate  of  infants,  and  in 
1903  called  an  international  conference  on  the  subject.  At 
the  third  international  conference,  held  in  Berlin  in  1911, 
twenty  different  countries  were  represented.  The  problem 
was  discussed,  statistics  collected,  and  preventive  measures 
proposed;  and  because  so  many  nations  were  represented, 
the  discussion  has  become  widespread.  The  British  have 
now  held  three  congresses  on  this  question. 

National  Association.  — • The  first  American  conference 
was  held  in  New  Haven,  in  1909,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Medicine,  and  as  a result  of  this  con- 
ference, the  “ American  Association  for  the  Study  and  Pre- 
vention of  Infant  Mortality  ” was  organized.  This  Associa- 
tion has  as  its  objects ; (1)  the  study  of  infant  mortality  in 
all  its  relations;  (2)  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  causes  of  infant  mortality ; and  (3)  the  encourage- 
ment of  methods  for  its  prevention.  It  is  trying  to  educate 
and  enlighten  the  people,  to  stimulate  better  sanitary  or- 
ganization and  administration,  and  to  urge  the  organization 
'of  a federal  department  of  health. 

Signs  of  progress.  — In  certain  sections  of  our  country, 
such  work  has  already  gained  headway.  In  Philadelphia, 
in  those  districts  where  special  preventive  work  was  carried 
on,  the  mortality  rate  is  40  per  cent  lower  than  in  the  rest  of 
the  city.  The  death  rate  among  the  infants  supplied  with 


374 


Social  Problems 


milk  hy  the  Babies^  Milk  Dispensary  of  Baltimore  is  50  per 
cent  less  than  the  general  death  rate  among  infants  of  the  city. 
In  New  York  City  there  is  now  an  average  of  two  thousand 
fewer  infants  dying  each  year  than  there  were  twenty  years 
ago,  even  when  the  population  and  the  cost  of  living  have 
been  increasing  so  rapidly.  The  change  in  conditions  effected 
in  several  of  our  large  cities  during  the  last  few  years,  shows 
what  may  be  accomplished  when  attention  is  properly  di- 
rected to  this  problem. 

Children  s Bureau.  The  United  States  government  has 
until  recently  done  very  little  for  child  protection.  The 
recently  established  Children’s  Bureau,  with  Miss  Julia 
Lathrop  at  its  head,  has  recognized  this  as  one  of  its  greatest 
problems,  and  has  already  begun  to  study  it,  and  to  issue 
literature  both  broadly  educational  and  distinctly  instructive. 
It  is  working  in  cooperation  with  the  aforementioned  Asso- 
ciation. The  problem  is  large,  and  proper  attention  is  just 
beginning  to  be  given  it.  Ex-President  Taft  says,  “ It  is 
not  possible  to  overestimate  the  far-reaching  importance  of 
the  question  of  the  reduction  of  infant  mortality.  It  affects 
not  only  the  happiness  of  the  home,  but  the  welfare  of  the  na- 
tion, and  the  future  of  the  race.” 

Health  and  sanitation.  — Classification  of  diseases.  — As 
in  the  consideration  of  accidents  we  found  them  pre- 
ventable and  unpreventable,  so  it  is  with  diseases.  The 
unprevent  able  diseases  have  less  social  or  economic  sig- 
nificance. We  are  more  concerned  with  those  diseases 
which  have  been  found  to  be  preventable.  As  a result 
of  the  research  work  of  the  medical  men  in  the  country, 
many  of  the  diseases  which  were  formerly  thought  to 
be  unpreventable  are  now  known  to  be  preventable.  Van 
Hise  classifies  diseases  as  constitutional  and  parasitic,  and 
says  that  the  problem  in  connection  with  the  first  is  to  pro- 
mote the  development  and  inheritance  of  sound  and  healthy 
bodies,  and  our  duty  with  regard  to  the  second  is  to  destroy 


Conservation  of  Human  Life  375 

those  parasites  which  invade  the  body,  giving  rise  to 
disease.^^ 

Length  of  life.  — The  decline  of  the  birth  rate  and  the  con- 
sciousness that  the  length  of  life  is  not  a foregone  conclusion 
have  led  to  attempts  to  save  and  to  lengthen  life.  In  India, 
the  average  length  of  life  is  twenty-three  and  one  half  years, 
and  this  average  remains  quite  stationary ; while  in  Sweden, 
where  the  science  of  sanitation  is  at  its  highest,  the  average 
length  of  life  is  fifty-two  and  one  fourth  years.  Some  ad- 
vance has  been  made  in  our  own  country.  For  example,  in 
New  Hampshire,  in  1789,  the  average  was  thirty-five  years ; 
in  1855,  it  was  forty  years ; and  in  1893-97,  it  was  forty- 
five  ; and  experts  declare  that  life  can  be  further  lengthened 
with  proper  attention  given  to  the  health  and  hygiene  of  the 
people.^^  Irving  Fisher  says  that  a safe  minimum  estimate  of 
the  number  of  years  our  lives  can  be  prolonged  here  in  this  ' 
country  is  fifteen.^^  Within  two  decades  London  cut  down 
her ‘death  rate  one  half.  It  is  now  thirteen  for  every  thou- 
sand people.  Sweden  offers  her  people  the  greatest  chances 
for  a long  life.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  have  dared 
to  interfere  with  the  personal  habits  of  the  people.^®  The 
United  States  will  accomplish  more  when  this  becomes  a 
governmental  matter.  Thus  far  we  have  depended  too  much 
on  private  initiative. 

Different  diseases.^^  — The  main  problem  to  be  met  in 
this  question  of  diseases  can  best  be  brought  out  by  consid- 
ering some  of  those  diseases  which  have  heretofore  caused 
our  greatest  loss  of  life,  and  the  measures  being  taken  to  con- 
trol them.  Smallpox  and  diphtheria  are  not  of  such  economic 
interests  as  are  cholera,  plague,  typhoid,  yellow  fever,  and 
tuberculosis,  but  in  the  past  they  have  presented  much  the 
same  kind  of  problem. 

Previous  to  1796,  when  the  vaccine  for  smallpox  was  dis- 
covered, three  hundred  out  of  one  hundred  thousand  people 
in  England  died  of  this  disease.  As  an  indication  of  the  eco- 


Social  Problems 


j?6 

Aomic  saving  through  reasonable  foresight  in  the  prevention 
of  disease,  Irving  Fisher  cites  the  smallpox  epidemic  in  1871 
and  1872  in  Philadelphia.  The  economic  loss  to  the  city 
from  this  one  epidemic  was  estimated  at  $22,000,000 ; whereas 
he  estimates  that  the  entire  cost  of  forestalling  the  epidemic 
would  have  been  $700,000,  or  less  than  one  thirteenth  of  the 
loss.  To-day,  in  towns  and  states  where  vaccination  is  en- 
forced, smallpox  gets  a very  weak  hold,  and  constitutes  a 
very  small  part  of  the  big  health  problem.  The  death  rate 
for  the  United  States  in  1912  was  three  per  one  hundred  thou- 
sand.^^  The  introduction  of  vaccination  is  said  to  have  in- 
creased the  mean  duration  of  human  life  about  three  and  one 
half  years. 

Diphtheria  also  used  to  be  one  of  the  most  dreaded  diseases 
until  investigation  revealed  an  antitoxin,  the  use  of  which 
has  reduced  the  death  rate  from  20  to  40  per  cent  of  those 
having  this  disease  to  5 per  cent.  For  instance,  the  death 
rate  from  diphtheria  in  Chicago  and  New  York,  from  f885 
to  1894,  was  one  hundred  forty  per  one  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants.  From  1895  to  1904,  after  the  use  of  antitoxin 
was  begun,  the  rate  was  seventy  per  one  hundred  thousand. 
This  means  an  annual  saving  of  twenty-five  hundred  lives  in 
New  York  City  alone. 

Cholera  and  the  plague  have  been  studied,  and  .their  causes 
have  been  made  known.  The  first  is  caused  by  an  impure 
water  supply ; the  second  is  carried  by  rats  and  other  rodents. 
Filth  also  fosters  these  diseases,  and  absolute  cleanliness  of 
person  and  of  surroundings  goes  a long  way  toward  their 
elimination.  By  taking  immediate  steps  when  either  of 
these  diseases  is  found,  it  can  be  kept  from  spreading ; and 
civilized  countries  which  take  precautions  are  now  entirely 
free  from  the  great  devastations  which  the  plague  and 
cholera  formerly  wrought.  In  India  and  China,  these  two 
diseases  are  a serious  health  and  economic  problem,  but  they 
have  ceased  to  be  a great  problem  in  the  United  States. 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


377 


Yellow  fever  was  found  to  be  carried  by  mosquitoes,  and 
with  the  proper  care  of  any  individual  case,  and  with  strenu- 
ous efforts  toward  wiping  out  this  insect,  this  problem 
no  longer  has  the  social  and  economic  importance  that  it 
formerly  had.  In  Havana,  for  the  eight  j^ears  before  the 
American  occupation  in  1898,  the  yellow  fever  death  rate 
was  five  hundred  fifty  per  one  hundred  thousand  inhabit- 
ants. For  the  first  six  years  of  this  present  century,  the 
death  rate  was  3.2  per  one  hundred  thousand ; which  justi- 
fies the  statement  made  by  Irving  Fisher,  that  by  scientific 
medicine  and  the  study  of  preventive  measures,  “ the  United 
States  has  abolished  yellow  fever.” 

Typhoid  fever  presents  one  of  our  most  important  health 
and  economic  problems.  Dr.  Stiles  says  that  “ tuberculosis 
is  the  disease  of  civilization,  while  typhoid  is  the  disease  of  , 
uncivilization.”  Certainly  it  is  true  that  filth  alone  breeds 
the  germs  of  typhoid.  Other  countries  have  obtained  more 
far-reaching  results  than  has  ours  in  the  campaign  against 
this  disease,  i^ccording  to  the  statistics  of  1910,  the  last 
available,  in  Australia  15  people  out  of  one  hundred  thousand 
died  of  typhoid ; in  Belgium,  9 ; in  France,  8 ; in  England, 
and  Scotland,  6 ; in  Germany,  Sweden,  and  Switzerland,  4 ; 
and  in  Norway  and  Denmark,  only  3 ; while  in  the  registra- 
tion area  of  the  United  States  23.5  people  out  of  one  hundred 
thousand  died  of  typhoid.  In  other  words,  400  people  die  of 
typhoid  in  New  York  City  every  year,  who  would  not 
die  if  they  resided  in  Berlin  or  Stockholm.  From  35,000  to 
50,000  are  stricken  every  year  by  typhoid  in  the  United 
States,  and  from  400,000  to  500,000  are  prostrated  by  it. 
This  means  not  only  an  unnecessary  loss  of  life,  but  an  un- 
necessary economic  loss  to  the  country.  Some  of  our  cities 
have  instituted  campaigns  against  this  disease,  but  it  is  a 
matter  for  a National  Board  to  work  on.  Typhoid  can  be 
combated  by  vaccination  and  by  enforced  personal  and  civic 
cleanliness.  Infection  carried  by  impure  water  has  been  the 


378 


Social  Problems 


cause  of  a great  many  typhoid  epidemics.  In  1890,  our 
death  rate  from  typhoid  was  46.3  per  one  hundred  thousand, 
but  by  taking  thought,  and  through  active  measures,  we 
had  already  reduced  this  to  16  per  one  hundred  thousand 
in  1912.^^  Vaccination  against  typhoid  has  almost  com- 
pletely eliminated  this  once  dreaded  disease  from  our 
army. 

It  is  estimated  that  about  one  million  people  are  suffering 
from  tuberculosis  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time, 
and  that  one  tenth  of  all  the  deaths  in  this  country  during 
the  year  1913,  or  one  hundred  fifty  thousand  deaths,  were 
due  to  this  disease.  But  tuberculosis  has  been  found  to  be 
preventable,  and,  if  measures  are  taken  in  time,  to  be  curable ; 
hence  it  is  receiving  a great  deal  of  attention,  not  only  from 
those  interested  in  scientific  preventive  medicine,  but  also 
from  the  economists  and  sociologists  of  our  country.  Tuber- 
culosis is  not  hereditary,  is  not  contagious  to  the  same  extent 
as  diphtheria  or  scarlet  fever,  and,  if  carefully  cared  for,  the 
patient  is  not  a menace  to  a family  or  a community.  This 
disease  is  contracted  only  through  the  germ  of  tuberculosis, 
and  that  germ  can  be  destroyed ; therefore  tuberculosis  can 
be  eradicated  from  the  world.  This  means  that  it  is  one  of 
the  diseases  on  which  preventive  measures  should  bo  centered. 
Irving  Fisher  estimates  that  the  money  cost  to  the  United 
States  exceeds  $1,000,000  per  annum,  and  that  about  two 
fifths  of  this  falls  on  others  than  the  tubercular  patient. 
Through  the  efforts  of  societies  and  associations,  tuberculosis 
has  been  reduced  to  half  what  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  This 
decrease  has  been  gradual,  but  steady.  In  spite  of  this  great 
reduction,  one  third  of  all  who  die  between  the  ages  of  eight- 
een and  forty-five  years,  die  from  tuberculosis.  In  Minne- 
sota, from  1895  to  1910,  the  tuberculosis  death  rate  remained 
practically  stationary.  During  the  same  period,  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  vigorous  measures  were  taken  against  the 
disease,  the  decline  in  the  tuberculosis  death  rate  was  39 


Conservation  of  Human  Life  379 

per  cent.  This  indicates  what  may  be  done  toward  the  elim- 
ination of  this  disease. 

Needs  of  the  United  States.  — In  the  United  States  much 
remains  to  be  done  for  the  promotion  of  the  health  of  its 
citizens.  The  underlying  cause  for  the  advance  that  has 
been  made  is  the  fact  that  scientific  medicine  is  concerning 
itself  more  and  more  with  preventive  instead  of  merely  cura- 
tive measures.  A change  in  the  attitude  of  medical  men 
has  come  about  through  their  cooperation  with  economists 
and  sociologists ; and  with  the  broader  vision  that  has  come 
to  them,  will  come  redoubled  efforts  for  the  prevention  of 

those  diseases  wUich  waste  a nation. 

• • 

Efficient  local,  state,  and  national  hoards  of  health  are 
necessary  in  this  movement.  The  state  of  New  York  finds 
that  while  the  death  rate  in  its  cities  has  decreased  in  the  last 
four  or  five  years,  the  death  rate  in  its  rural  districts  has 
increased.  This  is  due  to  a lack  of  uniformity  of  methods 
among  the  rural  boards,  and  experts  have  given  it  as  their 
opinion  that  all  rural  boards  should  be  under  a state  board.^^ 
Health  experts  are  necessary  if  boards  are  to  do  effective  work, 
not  only  to  investigate  conditions  for  the  boards,  and  to  ad- 
vise them,  but  also  to  arouse  public  sentiment  on  certain 
questions.  A school  for  the  training  of  health  officers  has 
been  started  through  cooperation  between  Harvard  and  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and  this  should 
give  good  results.  Politics  must  be  deprived  of  its  strong 
grip  on  the  choice  of,  and  the  acts  of,  our  health  commis- 
sioners. Many  health  boards  are  too  completely  occupied 
with  such  detailed  activities  as  plumbing  inspection,  garbage 
collection,  and  the  agitation  for  pure  foods  to  give  ade- 
quate attention  to  some  of  the  bigger  possibilities  of  their 
office. 

A bureau  of  vital  statistics  is  one  of  the  necessities  for 
the  health  board,  as  a basis  for  investigation  and  constructive 
work.  A good  board  must  aim  toward  the  suppression  of 


380 


Social  Problems 


vice  and  toward  having  a clean  territory,  both  physically  and 
morally.  It  must  aim  for  public  control  of  sanitary  condi- 
tions in  schools,  factories,  residence  districts,  and  public 
buildings  and  institutions.  Health  boards  should  have  uni- 
fied aims  and  work  together  for  uniform  ends.  A bill  was 
recently  introduced  into  the  United  States  Senate  by  Robert 
L.  Owen,  providing  for  a National  Department  of  Health. 
This  was  to  be  a federal  department,  with  a chief  in  the  cabi- 
net. It  was  to  take  over  and  correlate  the  different  phases 
of  this  work  now  done  by  the  Public  Health  Service  of  the 
Department  of  the  Treasury,  by  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry 
of  the  Agricultural  Department,  and  by  the  Vital  Statistics 
Division  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census.  The  creation  of  this 
new  department  would  be  a long  step  in  the  right  direction, 
and  it  is  a step  that  must  be  taken  in  the  near  future.  A 
national  board  of  this  kind  should  have  three  functions,  in- 
vestigation, dissemination  of  knowledge,  and  administration. 

The  state  boards  should  work  for  such  measures  as  the  eight- 
hour  day,  protection  of  laboring  women,  restriction  of  child 
labor,  sanitary  factories  and  public  buildings,  the  teaching 
of  hygiene  in  schools,  and  the  regulation  of  those  activities 
that  cause  occupational  diseases.  Boards  that  are  more 
local,  must  work  for  local  sanitary  conditions,  such  as  the 
water  and  milk  supply,  pure  foods,  the  control  of  contagious 
diseases,  and  for  all  that  goes  to  make  a clean  city  or  country. 

Through  the  press,  the  insurance  companies,  health  bureaus, 
and  the  health  experts,  we  must  work  for  the  cooperation  of 
the  people  in  all  sanitary  measures.  Little  can  be  accom- 
plished without  the  backing  of  the  people,  — without  an  active 
public  sentiment.  In  this  connection  the  work  of  Caroline 
Bartlett  Crane, of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  is  worthy  of  notice. 
She  first  investigates  social  and  health  conditions  in  some  city ; 
then,  by  a campaign  of  public  education,  gets  the  hearty  sup- 
port of  the  people  of  that  community  for  the  betterment  of 
those  conditions.  In  Montgomery,  Alabama,  for  instance, 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


381 


the  bad  conditions  arose  principally  from  the  Negro  centers 
of  the  city,  which  were  disease-breeding  communities.  Here 
she  spoke  in  all  the  Negro  schools,  and  what  almost  amounted 
to  a revolution  in  sanitation  took  place.  She  has  done  this 
kind  of  work  in  about  seventy  or  eighty  cities,  with  unusual 
results.  Campaigns  for  public  enlightenment  on  these  ques- 
tions are  best  started  in  the  schools,  and  a great  work  for 
personal  hygiene  is  being  started  by  the  teaching  of  school 
hygiene.  When  a people  can  be  awakened  to  a full  sensibil- 
ity of  the  importance  of  personal  hygiene,  then  public  sani- 
tation will  take  care  of  itself. 

A very  significant  recent  movement  is  the  growth  of  the 
science  of  eugenics."^  Irving  Fisher  calls  this  the  “ science 
of  hygiene  for  future  generations.’^  From  our  study  of 
crime,  pauperism,  insanity,  and  feeble-mindedness,  we  have 
seen  what  a large  part  heredity  plays  in  all  of  these  problems,' 
and  the  importance  from  a social  standpoint  of  segregating 
the  unfit.  Interest  in  this  subject  has  been  awakened  and 
stimulated  by  many  associations,  such  as  the  American  Social 
Hygiene  Association,  the  National  Committee  for  Mental 
Hygiene,  the  National  Eugenic  Association,  and  the  American 
Federation  for  Sex  Hygiene.  Some  of  these  associations  have 
branches  in  a number  of  states.  Investigations  and  research 
work  are  carried  on,  exhibits  are  prepared,  state  and  national 
conferences  are  held,  and  wide  publicity  is  given  to  the  pro- 
ceedings of  these  conferences  by  means  of  the  platform  and 
the  press.  Sex  education  is  being  taught  in  the  schools,  and 
many  colleges  and  universities  are  now  offering  courses  in 
genetics  and  heredity.  In  1914  a Race  Betterment  Congress 
was  held,  at  which  many  constructive  measures  were  proposed 
looking  toward  race  improvement.  A number  of  the  states 
have  recently  passed  eugenic  marriage  laws.  Whether  or 
not  such  laws  will  prove  as  beneficial  as  their  advocates  hoped 
remains  a question ; they  at  least  are  serving  an  important 
function  in  calling  attention  to  the  whole  subject  of  eugenics, 


382 


Social  Problems 


including  the  evidences  of  race  deterioration,  and  the  needs 
and  possibilities  of  race  improvement. 

Pure  food^^  — As  man  has  advanced  industrially,  he  has 
become  more  dependent  upon  others.  This  is  notably  true 
in  the  securing  of  his  food  supply.  Only  a few  years  ago, 
practically  all  of  his  food  was  prepared  within  the  household, 
and  the  family,  having  known  the  successive  stages  in  the  prep- 
aration of  the  food,  could  easily  judge  of  its  fitness  for  con- 
sumption. To-day,  with  our  extreme  division  of  labor,  each 
household  is  dependent  on  many  sources  for  its  food  supply. 
This  makes  possible  all  manner  of  adulterations,  many  of 
them  yielding  enormous  profits,  and  so  cleverly  carried  out 
as  to  be  impossible  of  detection  except  by  experts.'  Some  of 
them  are  a most  serious  menace  to  the  health  of  the  people. 

We  first  became  aroused  to  the  seriousness  of  these  condi- 
tions about  1890,  and  from  that  time  on,  efforts  were  made  to 
secure  legislation  for  the  prevention  of  food  adulterations. 
After  some  sixteen  years  of  struggle.  Congress,  in  1906, 
finally  passed  the  Pure  Food  Bill.  Shortly  before  this,  the 
Bureau  of  Labor  had  made  an  investigation  of  the  household 
budget  of  a number  of  families  of  the  working  class.  An 
analysis  was  made,  of  some  of  the  foods  most  commonly  pur- 
chased by  the  workingman,  and  the  amount  of  adulteration 
indicated  a most  alarming  state  of  affairs.  It  was  shown 
that  the  canned  goods  were  generally  freshened  or  colored 
with  chemical  salts,  and  preserved  with  boracic  or  sahcylic 
acids,’’  that  sugar,  molasses,  flour,  meal,  coffee,  tea,  vinegar, 
milk,  butter,  cheese,  and  candies  were  very  generally  adul- 
terated, and  often  with  substances  which  were  most  delete- 
rious to  the  health.  It  was  also  shown  that  diseased  meats 
were  often  thrown  on  the  market,  and  that  meats,  milk, 
and  eggs  were  often  kept  unduly  long  through  the  use  of 
formaldehyde  and  other  preservatives.  Dr.  Guhck  esti- 
mated that  each  summer  in  the  United  States  sixty  thousand 
babies  died  because  they  were  fed  on  impure  milk.^  Dr. 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


383 


Wiley,  formerly  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  has  long 
been  carrying  on  a most  vigorous  campaign  against  adultera- 
tions, and  as  a result  of  this  campaign  and  the  disclosures 
which  were  made,  we  have  the  Pure  Food  and  Drug  Act  of 
1906.  This  act  fixed  certain  standards  in  foods,  drugs, 
medicines,  and  liquors,  and  prohibited  the  use  of  various 
adulterants  and  the  misbranding  of  articles. 

A number  of  state  laws  have  supplemented  this  law,  by 
requiring  the  proper  labeling  of  food  packages,  both  as  to 
quantity  and  contents,  by  prohibiting  short  measure,  by 
regulating  cold  storage,  and  in  other  ways.  Much  has  been 
accomplished  by  all  this  legislation,  although  we  are  still 
far  from  being  sure  of  the  purity  of  the  contents  of  the  foods 
which  we  must  purchase  in  the  market  places.  Since  this 
legislation  was  passed,  there  has  been  a continuous  struggle 
between  the  commercial  and  the  hygienic  interests,  — be- 
tween the  rich  and  powerful  manufacturers  of  food,  drug,  and 
liquor  products,  and  the  consumer  who  is  more  or  less  depend- 
ent on  these  products.  The  efforts  of  the  force  of  inspectors 
in  collecting  samples,  in  detecting  adulterations,  and  in  pros- 
ecuting offenders,  are  being  redoubled.  Through  their  con- 
tinued activity,  and  through  the  education  of  the  public, 
we  hope  now  to  lessen  this  serious  menace  to  the  health  of  the 
people. 

Conclusion.  — We  may  wonder  whether  or  not  all  the  tre- 
mendous work  involved  in  conservation  will  pay.  Through 
work  of  this  kind,  the  death  rate  in  New  York  City  has  been 
reduced  40  per  cent  in  twenty  years.  One  author  says,  “ If 
some  spirit  could  show  us  two  hundred  death  beds  every  day 
in  this  great  city,  and  then  show  us  one  hundred  and  thirty 
other  households  where  death  would  be,  if  medical  science 
and  social  work  had  not  prevented  it,  we  could  maybe  under- 
stand what  these  figures  mean.’’  It  is  estimated  that  of  the 
people  who  are  working  in  the  United  States,  five  hundred 
thousand  are  killed  and  crippled  in  one  year  — more  than 


384 


Social  Problems 


were  killed  and  injured  in  the  Russo-Japanese  War.  Irving 
Fisher  estimates  that  there  are  1700  unnecessary  deaths 
every  day.  That  is  more  than  the  number  lost  in  the  Ti- 
tanic disaster.  Besides  this,  there  is  a colossal  aggregate  of 
needless  sickness.  He  estimates  also,  that  of  1,500,000 
deaths  every  year,  630,000  are  preventable,  while  at  least  one 
half  of  the  illness  of  the  3,000,000  always  on  the  sick  list  is 
preventable.  By  these  needless  deaths  and  illnesses,  human 
life  is  shortened,  according  to  very  conservative  estimating, 
at  least  fifteen  years.  We  have  seen  that  the  number  of 
cases  of  lead  poisoning  in  the  United  States  is  ten  times  what 
it  is  in  other  countries ; that  at  least  125,000  children  under 
one  year  of  age  are  needlessly  sacrificed  annually ; that  one 
third  of  all  the  deaths  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  years 
are  from  a wholly  preventable  disease,  tuberculosis;  that 
about  3,000,000  people  in  the  United  States  are  constantly 
lying  on  sick  beds,  at  least  half  of  whom  need  not  be  there ; 
and  that  every  day  of  the  365  days  of  the  year  there  are  1700 
unnecessary  deaths.  Considering  these  facts  merely  from  the 
standpoint  of  dollars  and  cents,  Irving  Fisher  estimates  these 
preventable  losses  at  over  1,500,000,000  dollars’  worth  of 
wealth-producing  powei;  every  year.  We  have  seen  what 
other  countries  have  done  toward  remedying  such  conditions ; 
also,  what  certain  sections  of  our  own  country  have  been  able 
to  do.  The  farther  one  goes  into  the  problem,  the  more  one 
realizes  that  it  is  an  all-comprehensive  problem,  and  that 
the  best  efforts  of  an  enlightened  age  must  be  put  forth  toward 
the  conservation  of  human  life. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Tell  of  the  general  significance  of  the  “ safety  first  ” move- 
ment. 

2.  What  national  organizations  are  coping  with  the  problem? 
In  what  way  ? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  railroad  organizations  doing  for  safety  ? 
With  what  success  ? 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


3S5 


4.  Give  an  account  of  the  work  for  safety  in  mines. 

5.  What  percentage  of  accidents  in  factories  is  said  to  be 
avoidable?  Tell  of  the  work  of  some  of  our  large  corporations 
toward  safety. 

6.  What  is  being  done  in  furthering  state  control  ? 

7.  How  are  industrial  diseases  defined?  Tell  of  their  preva- 
lence in  the  United  States. 

8.  What  hnes  of  action  are  necessary?  Tell  of  each. 

9.  What  conclusions  are  drawn  regarding  industrial  diseases  ? 

10.  How  great  is  infant  mortality  in  the  United  States?  How 
does  the  rate  here  compare  with  that  in  other  countries  ? 

11.  What  are  the  principal  causes  of  infant  mortality? 

12.  What  methods  have  been  found  effective  in  reducing  infant 
mortality  ? 

13.  How  is  public  sentiment  being  aroused  on  this  subject? 
TeU  about  the  first  American  conference  on  infant  mortality. 

14.  What  are  some  of  the  signs  of  progress? 

15.  Tell  about  the  Children’s  Bureau. 

16.  How  may  diseases  be  classified  ? 

17.  What  is  said  regarding  length  of  life  ? 

18.  Give  an  account  of  the  fight  against  smallpox ; diphtheria ; 
cholera ; yellow  fever ; typhoid  fever  ; tuberculosis. 

19.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  needs  in  the  United  States 
in  the  promotion  of  the  health  of  its  citizens? 

20.  What  is  said  of  the  importance  of  health  boards  and  experts  ? 
What  are  some  of  the  duties  of  the  different  boards  ? 

21.  What  is  said  about  eugenics  in  its  relation  to  public  health? 

22.  Tell  about  pure  food  and  its  relation  to  health.  What  is 
being  done  towards  securing  pure  food? 

23.  Summarize  the  conclusion  to  this  chapter. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Report  of  First  Cooperative  Safety  Congress,  pp.  129  and 

197. 

2.  Report  of  First  Cooperative  Safety  Congress,  p.  47. 

3.  The  Survey,  31 : 142. 

4.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  pp.  36-45. 

5.  The  Survey,  29  : 223. 

6.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  134. 

7.  Scientific  American,  Supplement,  74  : 287. 

8.  The  Survey,  29  ; 224. 


386 


Social  Problems 


9.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  131. 

10.  New  International  Year  Book,  1914,  “Railway  Accidents." 

11.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  13. 

12.  Webb-Mulhall,  Dictionary  of  Statistics,  p.  2. 

13.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  109. 

14.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  196. 

15.  R.  W.  Campbell,  in  Am.  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  Bulletin. 

16.  W.  H.  Cameron,  in  Am.  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  Bulletin. 

17.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  pp.  57  and  76. 

18.  Letter  from  D.  Lescobier,  Safety  Expert,  St.  Paul. 

19.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  79. 

20.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  p.  329. 

21.  Report,  Safety  Congress,  pp.  57-66. 

22.  The  Survey,  29  : 222. 

23.  American  Magazine,  Feb.,  1914,  p.  64. 

24.  The  Survey,  24  : 472. 

25.  Report  on  Lead  Poisoning,  Department  of  Labor,  pp.  54 
and  40. 

26.  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  II,  No.  2. 

27.  The  Survey,  28  : 86. 

28.  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  II,  No.  2,  p.  192. 

29.  Everybody’s  Magazine,  Oct.,  1913,  p.  510. 

30.  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  June,  1912,  p.  329. 

31.  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  June,  1912,  p.  348. 

32.  Reports,  American  Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Infant 
Mortality. 

33.  Census  Abstract,  1913. 

34.  Van  Hise,  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources,  pp.  364-72. 
Irving  Fisher,  “Report  on  National  Vitality,"  Bulletin  30. 

35.  Irving  Fisher,  “Report  on  National  Vitality,”  Bulletin  30, 

p.  11. 

36.  The  Survey,  29  ; 376. 

37.  American  Year  Book,  1913. 

38.  Winslow,  North  American  Review,  197  : 761. 

39.  The  Survey,  31 : 436. 

40.  Anti-Tuberculosis  Association  Literature. 

41.  Outlook,  103  : 290. 

42.  American  Year  Book,  1914,  pp.  388-90.  Goddard,  Feeble- 
mindedness, Ch.  IX,  “Eugenics." 

43.  Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform. 

44.  “Conservation  of  Human  Life,"  Senate  Dochment  493, 
p.  45. 


Conservation  of  Human  Life 


387 


45.  The  Survey,  29  : 379. 

46.  Irving  Fisher,  “Report  on  National  Vitality,”  p.  37. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READINGS 

Van  Hise,  The  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  the  United 
States,  Part  V. 

“ Report  on  National  Vitality,”  Irving  Fisher. 

Publications  of  American  Association  for  Study  and  Prevention  of 
Infant  Mortality,  1211  Cathedral  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Proceedings  of  the  Cooperative  Safety  Congresses,  contain  much 
valuable  and  up-to-date  material  on  the  subject  of  safety. 

Census,  1913,  “Mortality  Statistics.” 

Hunter,  Poverty,  Ch.  IV. 

American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  II,  No.  II,  “Industrial 
Diseases.” 

“Conservation  of  Human  Life,”  Senate  Document  493. 

Literature  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Preven- 
tion of  Tuberculosis,  105  E.  22d  St.,  New  York  City. 

Eastman,  Work- Accidents  and  the  Law. 

Henderson,  Citizens  in  Industry,  Ch.  II. 

Nearing,  Social  Religion,  Chs.  IX  and  X. 

Year  Book  of  the  American  Iron  and  Steel  Institute,  articles  on 
“Safety  First,”  “Accident  Prevention,”  “Sanitation,”  and 
“WeKare  Work.” 

Industrial  Accident  Statistics,  Bulletin  157  of  United  States  Bureau 
of  Labor  Statistics. 

Jacobs,  The  Campaign  against  Tuberculosis  in  the  United  States. 

Briscoe,  Economics  of  Efficiency,  Chs.  XI  and  XII. 

Report,  Bureau  of  Safety,  United  States  Steel  Corporation. 

Literature,  American  Public  Health  Association,  Boston,  Mass. 

Literature,  American  Society  for  the  Control  of  Cancer,  289  4th 
Ave.,  New  York  City. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  QUESTIONS 


CHAPTER  I 

How  has  the  economic  and  social  development  of  your  state 
been  influenced  by  its  altitude  ? Its  natural  boundaries  and 
frontiers  ? Its  isolation  ? Its  rivers  and  lakes  ? The  sea  ? Trade 
routes?  Its  area  or  extent? 

What  part  has  conflguration  played  in  the  development  of  your 
own  immediate  locality  ? 

What  has  determined  the  location  of  the  principal  cities  of  your 
own  state?  The  location  of  the  principal  railroad  lines? 

What  industries  in  your  state  are  largely  determined  by  the  • 
climate  ? 

Compare  the  average  temperature  of  your  state  with  that  of  the 
states  having  the  greatest  extremes  of  temperature;  the  rainfall 
with  that  of  the  states  having  the  greatest  and  least  rainfall. 

The  soil  in  your  locality  has  had  what  influence  on  the  local  prodT 
ucts?  How  does  the  difference  in  soils  affect  the  products  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  your  state? 

What  industries  in  your  state  are  dependent  upon  its  natural 
resources  ? 

Where  are  the  principal  forest  areas  of  your  state?  Where  is 
its  principal  mineral  wealth  located  ? How  does  it  rank  in  compari- 
son with  the  other  states  in  regard  to  the  value  of  its  more  im- 
portant products  ? 

What  are  the  principal  motive  forces  in  use  in  your  locality  ? In 
your  state?  Has  any  change  taken  place  within  the  past  few 
years  in  the  motive  force  used  ? What  water  power  is  used  in  your 
state?  For  what  industries? 

Mention  some  of  the  various  ways  in  which  man  has  modifled 
his  environment  within  your  own  locality  and  state. 

CHAPTER  II 

What  proportion  of  the  total  population  of  the  United  States  is 
found  within  your  own  state  ? How  does  its  rate  of  increase  for  the 
past  several  decades  compare  with  that  of  the  United  States  ? 

388 


Supplementary  Questions 


389 


What  is  the  density  of  population  of  your  state?  Where  is  it 
the  greatest  ? Why  ? How  does  it  compare  with  that  of  the  neigh< 
boring  states,  and  with  that  of  the  United  States?  What  is  the 
average  area  per  inhabitant? 

What  percentage  of  the  population  of  your  state  is  urban?  Is 
any  apparent  change  taking  place  at  the  present  time  in  the  pro- 
portion'of  urban  to  rural  population?  If  so,  it  is  due  to  what 
causes?  What  proportion  of  the  population  is  found  in  the  one, 
two,  or  three  largest  cities?  What  influence  does  this  have  on  the 
politics  of  the  state? 

Show  how  the  distribution  of  population  within  your  state  has  been 
influenced  by  (a)  drainage  ; (6)  altitude ; (c)  rainfall ; {d)  temperature. 

What  races  are  represented  in  the  population  of  your  state? 
In  what  proportions  to  the  total  population? 

What  proportion  of  the  population  of  your  state  is  foreign-born? 
What  are  the  principal  nationalities  represented  in  the  population 
of  your  state?  What  percentage  does  each  represent  (a)  of  the 
foreign-born?  (6)  of  total  of  foreign  origin? 

What  is  the  ratio  of  males  to  females  in  your  state  ? How  does 
this  compare  with  that  for  the  United  States  ? How  do  you  account 
for  the  difference? 

How  many  persons  are  there  in  your  state  of  school  age  ? How 
many  of  these  attend  school?  How  many  illiterates  in  the  state? 
Is  the  number  increasing  or  decreasing  ? How  does  the  proportion 
compare  with  that  for  the  United  States? 

How  many  voters  in  your  state?  How  many  votes  were  cast 
at  the  last  general  election?  What  percentage  of  the  foreign-born 
white  males  of  voting  age  have  become  naturalized?  Have  taken 
out  their  flrst  papers? 

Make  an  analysis  of  the  population  of  your  own  city  (or  county) 
along  the  lines  suggested  by  the  preceding  questions. 

CHAPTER  III 

How  many  immigrants  came  to  this  country  last  year?  How 
does  this  number  compare  with  that  of  previous  years  ? 

What  nationalities  were  represented  in  largest  numbers?  What 
changes  have  taken  place  within  the  past  decade  in  the  relative 
proportion  of  each  nationality  to  the  total  number  of  immigrants? 

How  many  former  immigrants  returned  to  their  home  country 
during  the  year?  This  leaves  how  many  as  the  total  net  gain  to 
our  population  from  immigration? 


390  Social  Problems 

Compare  the  recent  immigrants  with  the  “ old  ” in  regard  to  age; 
sex ; literacy.  ’ 

What  have  been  the  principal  causes  for  the  recent  fluctuations  in 
the  number  of  immigrants  ? 

What  is  being  done  in  this  country  to  aid  the  newly  arrived 
immigrant?  Why  is  there  so  great  a need  for  such  work? 

,What  are  the  principal  ports  of  entrance  of  immigrants  to  this 
country?  How  many  were  refused  permission  to  land  at  these 
several  ports?  What  reasons  were  given  for  this  refusal?  How 
many  were  deported  during  the  past  year?  On  what  grounds? 

Has  there  been  any  recent  legislation  affecting  immigration? 
If  so,  what?  What  are  the  present  principal  demands  for  further 
restrictions  ? 

How  many  Chinese  came  to  this  country  the  past  year?  How 
many  Japanese?  How  many  Hindus?  How  does  the  number 
of  each  compare  with  that  of  previous  years?  What  are  the  prin- 
cipal recent  developments  in  regard  to  Oriental  immigration? 

Suggested  Topics : The  Irish  in  the  United  States. 

The  Germans  in  the  United  States. 

The  Scandinavians  in  the  United  States. 

The  Italians  in  the  United  States. 

The  Slavs  in  the  United  States. 

The  Hebrews  in  the  United  States. 

CHAPTER  IV 

What  is  the  present  status  of  the  federal  child  labor  law? 

Name  some  of  the  more  prominent  national  leaders  in  the  move- 
ment to  safeguard  the  welfare  of  the  children. 

What  states  have  passed  important  child  labor  legislation  the 
past  year  ? What  important  proposed  measures  were  defeated  ? 

Summarize  the  principal  provisions  in  your  own  state  regarding 
child  labor. 

How  does  your  state  compare  with  neighboring  states  in  its 
restrictions  on  child  labor  ? With  the  most  advanced  states  ? 

What  industries  in  your  state  are  the  most  serious  offenders  in 
the  employment  of  children  ? In  your  own  locality  ? 

What  are  the  principal  forces  in  your  state  opposed  to  the  further 
protection  of  the  child  workers  ? 

What  provision  has  your  state  made  regarding  compulsory  school 
attendance?  How  does  this  fit  in  with  the  restrictions  on  child 
labor  ? 


Supplementary  Questions  391 

What  is  being  done  in  your  community  to  meet  the  problem  of 
child  idleness  ? 

Suggested  Topics : The  Work  of  the  National  Child  Labor 

Committee. 

The  Children’s  Bureau. 

CHAPTER  V 

How  many  women  are  classed  as  wage-earners  in  your  state? 
This  is  what  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  wage-earners  ? What 
proportion  of  the  women  in  the  state  are  wage-earners  ? 

How  do  these  proportions  compare  with  those  of  some  of  the 
other  states  ? How  do  you  account  for  the  difference  ? 

In  what  industries  in  your  state  are  the  largest  numbers  of  women 
employed  ? 

What  provision  has  your  state  made  for  the  protection  of  its 
women  wage-earners  ? 

Compare  your  state  with  the  neighboring  states  in  this  respect. 
With  the  most  advanced  states. 

What  important  legislation  was  passed  by  the  various  states 
during  the  past  year  in  the  interest  of  the  women  workers  ? 

What  is  the  present  status  of  minimum  wage  legislation  in  the 
United  States  ? What  has  your  state  done  towards  establishing  a 
minimum  wage? 

Have  women  the  right  to  vote  in  your  state?  Has  this  ap- 
parently had  any  influence  on  social  legislation  ? 

To  what  extent  are  the  women  wage-earners  in  your  state 
organized  as  trade  unionists  ? In  what  industries  ? 

Suggested  Topics : Women  Trade  Unionists  in  the  United 
States. 

The  Minimum  Wage. 

Social  Legislation  in  Suffrage  States. 

CHAPTER  VI 

What  sweated  Industries  have  you  in  your  locality?  In  your 
state  ? 

The  work  is  done  primarily  by  what  nationalities? 

What  laws  have  been  passed  by  your  state  to  regulate  the  manu- 
facture of  goods  in  tenements  and  dwelling  houses  ? 

Compare  your  state  with  some  of  the  most  advanced  states  in 
this  respect. 


392 


Social  Problems 


; 

What  provision  has  your  state  made  for  the  inspection  of  factories 
and  workshops  ? 

How  many  inspectors  are  employed  ? Their  powers  and  duties  ? 

Give  a summary  of  the  work  done  by  the  inspectors  the  past 
year.  What  recommendations  did  they  make? 

Have  any  special  investigations  been  made  in  your  state?  If 
so,, give  a summary  of  the  report. 

To  what  extent  do  the  merchants  of  your  locality  carry  goods 
bearing  the  Consumers’  League  label  ? 

Suggested  Topics : The  Consumers’  League. 

The  Sweat  Shop  as  a Spreader  of  Disease. 

CHAPTER  VII 

What  are  the  principal  labor  organizations  in  your  locality? 
In  your  state? 

How  large  a membership  have  they?  What  have  been  their 
principal  activities  ? 

Have  there  been  any  important  strikes  in  your  locality  or  state 
the  past  year?  If  so,  what  was  their  outcome? 

Has  your  state  a Department  or  Bureau  of  Labor?  If  so,  how 
is  it  organized  and  what  are  its  duties  ? 

What  were  some  of  the  principal  items  of  information  in  regard 
to  labor  conditions  in  the  last  report  of  your  state  labor  bureau  ? 

Do  your  local  stores  carry  union  label  goods?  To  what  extent 
is  there  a demand  for  such  goods  ? 

How  many  strikes  and  lockouts  were  there  in  the  United  States 
the  past  year?  How  many  workmen  were  affected?  What  were 
the  principal  causes  of  the  strikes  ? How  successful  were  they  ? 

Tell  about  some  of  the  more  important  strikes  of  the  past  year, 
including  the  number  of  men  involved  and  the  outcome. 

Tell  of  the  conciliation  work  of  the  Department  of  Labor  for  the 
past  year. 

Suggested  Topics : The  Platform  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor. 

An  Account  of  a Local  Union. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

How  does  unemployment  the  past  year  compare  with  that  of 
preceding  years?  What  have  been  the  principal  causes  of  this 
variation  ? 


Supplementary  Questions 


393 


Were  any  special  studies  of  unemployment  made  the  past  year? 
If  so,  give  the  result  of  the  findings. 

Tell  of  the  federal  employment  work  of  the  Department  of  Labor 
for  the  past  year. 

Give  a summary  of  unemployment  legislation  of  the  past  year. 

Tell  of  the  extent  of  unemployment  in  your  own  state. 

What  is  your  state  doing  to  meet  the  problem  of  unemployment  ? 
Your  locality? 

Give  an  account  of  the  work  done  by  the  employment  agencies 
in  your  own  town,  or  in  the  nearest  large  city. 

What  are  the  principal  seasonal  industries  in  your  state?  How 
great  is  the  fluctuation  of  employment  in  these  industries  ? 

What  is  being  done  through  your  local  post  office  toward  lessening 
the  amount  of  unemployment  ? 

Have  you  many  tramps  in  your  locality?  What  assistance  are 
they  ordinarily  given?  What,  if  any,  provision  is  made  for  caring 
for  homeless  men? 

CHAPTER  IX 

How  many  blind  are  there  in  your  state  ? This  is  what  propor- 
tion of  the  total  population?  How  does  this  proportion  compare 
with  that  for  the  United  States  as  a whole? 

How  many  blind  are  there  of  school  age  in  your  state?  This  is 
what  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  school  age  ? 

Give  some  of  the  principal  items  of  information  regarding  the 
blind  of  your  state,  such  as : age  when  blindness  occurred,  sex, 
color  and  nativity,  causes  of  blindness,  etc. 

What  provision  has  your  state  made  for  the  care  of  the  blind  ? Is 
any  provision  made  to  assist  the  adult  blind? 

Give  some  of  the  principal  items  of  information  regarding  the 
school  (or  schools)  for  the  blind  in  your  state,  such  as  : number  of 
pupils  enrolled,  cost  of  maintenance,  conditions  of  admittance, 
methods  employed  in  education,  alphabet  used,  industries  taught, 
library,  and  what  is  done  by  the  school  as  a field  and  employment 
agency  for  the  blind. 

Answer  questions  similar  to  the  above  in  regard  to  the  deaf  in 
your  state. 

Are  there  any  special  day  schools  for  the  deaf  in  your  state  ? If 
so,  tell  of  them  and  of  the  work  they  are  doing. 

Does  your  state  make  any  provision  for  the  higher  education  of 
the  deaf  or  the  blind?  If  scholarships  are  offered,  what  is  their 
value  and  how  may  they  be  obtained  ? 


394  Social  Problems  ^ 

What  are  the  principal  needs  of  your  state  in  its  care  for  the 
blind  and  the  deaf  ? 

Suggested  Topics  : Gallaudet  College. 

The  American  Association  of  Workers  for 
the  Blind. 

The  Volta  Bureau. 

CHAPTER  X 

What  provision  has  your  state  made  for  the  care  of  the  feeble- 
minded ? 

What  is  the  number  in  institutions  of  your  state  ? This  is  what 
proportion  of  the  total  population?  How  does  this  proportion 
compare  with  that  for  the  United  States  as  a whole  ? 

What  provision  is  made  for  the  care  of  the  epileptic?  Number? 
Cost?  Method  of  treatment? 

Give  some  of  the  more  important  items  of  information  in  regard 
to  your  state  school  for  the  feeble-minded,  such  as : number  in 
institution,  classification,  admittance,  number  in  school,  methods 
of  training,  industrial  work,  compulsory  attendance,  etc. 

What  provision  is  made  for  the  adult  feeble-minded?  What 
control  has  the  institution  over  the  feeble-minded  in  the  state? 
Can  parents  take  their  children  from  the  school  at  their  own  dis- 
cretion ? Has  the  institution  a waiting  list  ? 

How  many  insane  are  there  in  your  state  ? Compare  this  number 
with  that  in  neighboring  states  and  in  the  United  States  in  relation 
to  the  total  population. 

How  are  the  insane  cared  for  in  your  state?  In  how  many  in- 
stitutions? Compare  the  method  of  caring  for  the  insane  in  your 
state  with  that  of  some  of  the  other  states. 

TeU  about  your  nearest  county  or  state  asylum  for  the  insane 
— number  of  patients,  cost,  average  period  of  detention,  number  re- 
ported cured,  method  of  commitment,  etc. 

What  are  some  of  the  more  important  needs  in  your  state  for 
extending  or  improving  the  work  done  for  the  feeble-minded  and 
the  insane  ? 

Suggested  Topics : The  Binet-Simon  Test. 

The  Kallikaks. 

The  Jukes. 

The  Ishmaels. 

The  National  Committee  for  Mental  Hy- 
giene. 


Supplementary  Questions 


395 


CHAPTER  XI 

What  prisons  and  reformatories  have  you  in  your  state  ? Where 
are  they  located  and  how  many  are  there  in  each  ? 

What  is  the  average  age  of  commitment  at  your  state  prison? 
Average  term  served?  The  sex  and  nationality  of  the  prisoners? 
How  may  a prisoner  be  pardoned  ? 

Is  the  graded  system  in  use?  If  so,  describe  its  principal 
features  ? How  many  are  in  each  grade  ? 

Is  the  indeterminate  sentence  used  in  your  state  ? The  cumula- 
tive sentence?  TeU  about  each. 

Have  you  a system  of  probation?  A parole  system?  Explain 
each.  TeU  of  the  work  of  the  probation  officer.  Of  the  parole 
agent. 

TeU  about  some  of  the  reforms  that  have  been  adopted  recently 
in  your  state  prison. 

Is  there  a school  in  the  prison?  If  so,  teU  of  the  work  done. 
What  reUgious  services  are  held  in  the  prison  ? 

What  system  of  prison  labor  has  your  state  ? Describe  the  sys- 
tem. What  industries  are  carried  on  and  how  many  men  are  em- 
ployed in  each?  What  are  the  profits  from  the  business?  Does 
the  prisoner  receive  any  compensation  for  his  labor  ? 

Give  a fuU  account  of  such  reformatories  as  may  be  located  within 
your  state. 

Suggested  Topics : The  Central  Howard  Association. 

The  Work  of  Maude  BaUington  Booth. 

The  Juvenile  Court. 

Convicts  and  Road  Making. 

The  New  Order  at  Sing  Sing. 

CHAPTER  XII 

Give  a summary  of  the  marriage  laws  of  your  state.  Compare 
these  laws  with  those  of  adjacent  states. 

What  states  have  eugenic  marriage  laws?  Give  the  principal 
features  of  these  laws. 

What  are  some  of  the  most  needed  reforms  in  the  marriage  laws 
of  your  state? 

What  are  the  legal  grounds  for  divorce  in  your  state  ? How  does 
your  state  compare  with  neighboring  states  in  regard  to  the  ease 
with  which  a divorce  may  be  secured  ? 


396 


Social  Problems 


How  many  divorces  were  granted  in  your  state  last  year?  In 
the  one  or  two  largest  cities  of  the  state  ? Compare  these  numbers 
with  the  number  of  marriages. 

How  does  your  state  rank  with  other  states  in  regard  to  the  rela- 
tive number  of  divorces  granted  ? 

Compare  the  number  of  divorces  in  your  state  with  the  number 
in  Canada  and  in  some  of  the  European  countries. 

What  are  some  of  the  more  important  needs  in  your  state  for 
remedying  the  divorce  evil  ? 

Is  anything  being  done  in  your  state  corresponding  to  the  proposed 
rernedies  mentioned  in  the  chapter  ? 

Suggested  Topics : The  Need  for  Uniform  Divorce  Laws. 

The  Court  of  Domestic  Relations. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

How  many  states  are  now  dry  ? What  proportion  of  the  total 
area  of  the  United  States  is  now  dry  territory?  What  proportion  of 
the  total  population  is  now  living  in  dry  territory  ? 

Give  a summary  of  the  more  important  temperance  legislation 
for  the  past  year. 

What  was  the  amount  of  liquor  consumed  the  past  year?  How 
much  of  this  was  spirituous  liquors  and  how  much  malt  ? How  do 
these  amounts  compare  with  those  of  previous  years  ? 

What  was  the  estimated  drink  bill  for  the  past  year?  What 
does  this  amount  to  per  capita?  Is  this  amount  increasing  or  de- 
creasing ? 

Where  does  your  state  stand  on  the  temperance  question  ? What 
legislation  has  been  passed  recently,  and  is  any  under  considera- 
tion at  the  present  time  ? 

What  are  the  most  effective  forces  in  your  state  for  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  traffic  ? 

• How  do  the  leading  papers  of  your  state  stand  on  the  liquor 
question  ? Which  of  the  papers  refuse  liquor  advertisements  ? 

Does  your  state  make  any  provision  for  earing  for  inebriates  ? If 
so,  what? 

How  has  the  war  affected  the  temperance  movement?  What 
has  been  the  recent  development  of  the  temperance  movement  in 
the  European  countries? 

' Suggested  Topics  : The  Anti-Saloon  League. 

What  Temperance  has  done  for  Kansas. 


Supplementary  Questions 


397 


CHAPTER  XIV 

What  system  of  poor  relief  have  you  in  your  local  community? 
TeU  about  it. 

Have  you  a county  poor  farm  or  almshouse  ? If  so,  tell  about  it 
— the  number  cared  for  during  the  past  year,  cost  per  capita,  how 
the  expenses  are  met,  management,  etc. 

Give  an  account  of  the  work  done  by  the  city  mission  in  your 
home  town  or  in  the  nearest  large  city. 

Give  an  account  of  the  work  done  by  the  charity  organization 
society  of  your  home  town  or  of  the  nearest  large  city. 

What  homes  for  dependent  children  are  there  in  your  com- 
munity or  state?  TeU  of  the  work  done  by  each. 

Is  any  special  provision  made  for  the  aged  poor  in  your  com- 
munity or  state?  If  so,  teU  about  it. 

Does  your  city  have  a municipal  lodging  house  ? If  so,  to  what 
extent  is  it  used?  Does  your  city  have  a bread  line  or  a soup 
kitchen  in  the  winter  months  ? 

Are  there  any  other  organizations  for  helping  the  poor  in  your 
community?  If  so,  teU  about  them. 

What  is  your  city  doing  to  improve  the  housing  conditions  ? 

Suggested  Topics  : The  Cost  of  War. 

The  Single  Tax  and  Housing  Reform. 

Recent  Studies  regarding  the  Extent  of 
Poverty. 

Recent  Studies  regarding  the  Concentra- 
tion of  Wealth. 

CHAPTER  XV 

Give  an  account  of  the  work  of  the  National  Forest  Service  for 
the  past  year.  How  great  an  area  was  reforested  ? 

What  were  some  of  the  most  important  water  powers  developed 
during  the  year?  Irrigation  projects? 

What  was  the  value  of  our  principal  mineral  products  for  the  past 
year  ? How  do  these  values  compare  with  those  of  former  years  ? 

TeU  of  the  production  and  the  extension  of  the  use  of  natural  gas 
for  the  past  year. 

How  did  the  production  of  the  precious  metals  the  past  year 
compare  in  amount  with  that  of  previous  years  ? 

Give  the  acreage  and  total  production  of  some  of  the  principal 
grains  the  past  year.  How  do  these  amounts  compare  with  those 
of  previous  years  ? 


398 


Social  Problems 


What  was  the  average  yield  per  acre  of  these  grains  ? Compare 
this  average  with  that  of  previous  years. 

Compare  the  production  of  some  of  the  principal  grains  in  the 
United  States  with  that  of  some  of  the  foreign  countries.  Compare 
the  average  yield  per  acre. 

Where  does  your  own  state  rank  in  the  production  of  the  principal 
minerals?  In  the  production  of  the  precious  metals?  In  the  pro- 
dudtion  of  the  principal  agricultural  products? 

Suggested  Topics : The  Economic  Waste  from  Soil  Erosion, 

Water  Power  Development  in  Your  Own  State. 

Irrigation  Projects  in  Your  Own  State. 

Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  Your 
Own  State. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

What  were  some  of  the  more  serious  diseases  of  cattle  in  the 
United  States  the  past  year?  TeU  of  the  area  infected,  estimated 
losses,  methods,  and  success  in  controlling  these  various  diseases. 

Discuss  similarly  the  diseases  of  sheep. 

The  diseases  of  hogs. 

The  diseases  of  horses. 

What  were  some  of  the  more  important  insect  pests  of  the  past 
year?  They  extended  over  what  ^reas?  They  caused  what 
estimated  losses?  What  measures  were  taken  against  the  pests 
and  with  what  success? 

Discuss  similarly  plant  diseases. 

What  were  some  of  the  more  important  losses  due  to  depredations 
of  animals  ? What  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  these  losses  ? 

What  measures  have  been  taken  within  the  past  year  or  so  look- 
ing to  the  protection  of  our  wild  game  ? What  areas  were  set  aside 
as  game  preserves? 

What  are  some  of  the  more  important  grains  and  fruits  that  have 
been  introduced  into  the  United  States  recently?  What  of  their 
economic  possibilities  ? 

Suggested  Topics  : The  Cotton  BoU  Weevil. 

The  Foot-and-mouth  Disease. 

Hog  Cholera. 

Protecting  Our  Song  Birds. 

Any  Special  Losses  in  Your  Own  State. 

Any  Special  Activities  of  Your  Own  State  in 
the  Conservation  of  Its  Plant  or  Animal  Life. 


Supplementary  Questions 


399 


CHAPTER  XVII 

What  were  the  principal  developments  the  past  year  in  the  cam- 
paign for  “ safety  first  ” ? 

How  does  the  number  of  accidents  in  coal  mining  the  past  year 
compare  with  the  number  in  previous  years  ? How  does  the  number 
in  this  country  compare  with  that  in  some  of  the  foreign  countries  ? 

How  many  were  killed  or  injured  in  railroad  accidents  the  past 
year?  Is  the  number  annually  killed  or  injured  increasing  or  de- 
creasing ? 

Compare  the  number  killed  or  injured  in  railroad  accidents  in 
this  country  with  the  number  in  some  of  the  principal  European 
countries. 

What  were  some  of  the  principal  measures  taken  by  your  own 
state  during  the  past  year  looking  to  the  lessening  of  the  number  of 
accidents  ? 

What  was  done  during  the  past  year  looking  toward  the  lessen- 
ing or  eliminating  of  industrial  diseases? 

What  gains  have  been  made  the  past  year  in  lessening  infant  mor- 
tality? Give  some  of  the  recent  statistics  on  infant  mortality. 
Compare  these  statistics  with  those  of  some  of  the  European 
countries. 

How  do  the  mortality  statistics  of  your  own  city  and  state 
compare  with  those  of  other  cities  and  states? 

What  was  some  of  the  more  important  pure  food  legislation  of 
the  past  year?  Was  any  such  legislation  passed  by  your  own 
state  ? 

Suggested  Topics  : The  Anti-Tuberculosis  Crusade. 

The  Conservation  of  Infant  Life. 

The  Conquest  of  Yellow  Fever. 

The  Struggle  against  Typhoid  Fever. 


INDEX 


Accidents : and  child  labor,  69 ; a 
cause  of  unemployment,  ’ 146  ; and 
blindness,  164;  and  poverty,  293; 
industrial,  cost  of,  366  ff. ; rail- 
road, 358 ; in  mines,  360. 

Altitude:  influence  of,  2;  and  popu- 
lation, 22.  ", 

American  Federation  of  Labor:  122  ff. 

Andrews,  J.  B.:  153. 

Animal ; resources,  influence  of,  12 ; 
diseases,  losses  from,  335  ff. ; depre- 
dations, losses  due  to,  345. 

Anti-Saloon  Lea^e : 276. 

Arbitration : 125. 

Area : importance  of,  7. 

Aspects  of  nature  : 13. 

Backward  child : 186. 

Bad  housing:  299. 

Beers,  Clifford  W. : 203. 

Bell,  Alexander  Graham : 180. , 

Benefit  features ; of  trade  unions, 
134. 

Binet-Simon  test : 187. 

Blacklist:  129. 

“Blind  alley”  occupations:  73,  146. 

Blind,  the : history  of  care  of,  161 ; 
number,  162;  age,  162  ; education 
of,  165 ; in  industry,  171 ; train- 
ing for  adult  blind,  170 ; see  blind- 
ness. 

Blindness:  age  at  which  it  occurs, 
162 ; causes,  163 ; prevention,  163. 

Boll  weevil:  342. 

Booth,  Charles : 271,  289. 

Boundaries : natural,  3. 

Boycott:  129. 

Braille  system : 169. 

Brandeis : 92,  93. 

Buffalo  : disappearance  of,  346. 

Bureau  of  Forestry : 310 ; Children’s, 
75,  374  ; of  Animal  Industry,  338  ; 
of  Entomology,  344 ; of  Mines, 
360-1. 


Canals:  317. 

Carver,  T.  N. : 286. 

Cary  Act : 319. 

Cattle  diseases:  losses  due  to,  338. 

Center : of  population,  23 ; of  area, 
25. 

Child  idleness : 78. 

Child  labor:  in  England,  60;  in 
U.S.,  62  ; extent,  64  ; causes,  65  ; 
effects,  68 ; prevention,  74 ; legis- 
lation, 76  ; National  Committee,  75. 

Children’s  Bureau : 75,  374. 

Chinese : in  United  States,  25 ; im- 
migration, 53;  Exclusion  Act,  54. 

Cholera:  376. 

Citizenship  : and  child  labor,  73. 

Climate : influence  of,  8 ; temper- 
ature, 8 ; moisture,  9 ; light,  10. 

Closed  shop:  131. 

Coal:  321. 

Codling  moth : 343. 

Collective  bargaining : 124. 

Compulsory  education  laws : and 
child  labor,  67 ; and  unemployment, 
153. 

Conciliation : boards  of,  126. 

Configuration : altitude,  2 ; natural 
boundaries  and  frontiers,  3 ; isola- 
tion, 5 ; rivers  and  lakes,  5 ; the 
sea,  6 ; trade  routes,  7 ; area  or 
extent,  7. 

Conservation:  of  natural  resources, 
307  ff.  (forests,  308 ; water,  315 ; 
minerals,  321 ; land,  327)  ; of  plant 
and  animal  life,  335  ff. ; of  human 
life,  355  ff. 

Consumers’  League,  111. 

Contract  system : 226. 

Contractor : or  sweater,  98. 

Coroner’s  office : new  standards  for, 
365. 

Corporations:  work  toward  safety, 
362. 

Cotton-boll  weevil : 342. 


2 D 


401 


402 


Index 


Court  of  Domestic  Relations : 251-2. 

Crane,  Caroline  Bartlett:  380. 

Crawfish : losses  due  to,  346. 

Crime : definition,  208 ; classifica- 
tion, 209 ; extent  of,  209 ; change 
in  forms  of,  212  ; causes,  214  ; pre- 
vention, 220;  feeble-mindedness  a 
cau^e,  193,  214 ; juvenile,  229 ; in- 
temperance a cause,  267 ; and  im- 
migration, 45. 

Criminal  court  procedure : 218. 

Criminals : number,  209 ; changing 
attitude  toward,  219;  reformation 

' of,  220;  treatment  of,  222;  em- 
ployment of,  225 ; juvenile,  229. 

Crownhart,  C.  H. : 364. 

Cumulative  sentence : 223. 

Cyclical  changes : and  unemploy- 
ment, 148. 

Day  schools : for  the  blind,  167 ; for 
the  deaf,  178. 

Deaf,  the : history  of  training,  174 ; 
numbers,  174 ; age,  175 ; ability 
to  speak,  175 ; education,  176 ; in 
industry,  180. 

Deafness : causes  of,  175 ; preven- 
tion, 176 ; see  deaf. 

Degeneracy : and  crime,  214 ; and 
poverty,  295. 

Density  of  population : 20. 

Devine,  Dr.  E.  T. : 266,  267. 

Diphtheria:  376. 

Disease : and  sweat  shops,  103 ; a 
cause  of  unemployment,  145  ; 
cause  of  blindness,  163 ; cause  of 
deafness,  175 ; cause  of  feeble- 
mindedness, 189 ; cause  of  insanity, 
199  ; and  intemperance,  269  ; cause 
of  poverty,  292 ; industrial,  366 ; 
different  diseases,  375  ff. ; see  sick- 
ness. 

Dispensary  system : 274. 

Divorce : extent,  243 ; in  other  coun- 
tries, 245 ; grounds  for,  245 ; 
causes  for  increase,  246 ; pro- 
posed remedies,  250. 

Dow,  Dr.  J.  J. : 170. 

‘‘Driving”:  102,  133. 

“Dry”:  territory,  258;  map,  259; 
' papers.  280. 

Dumb:  175,  177 ; see  deaf. 


Economic  conditions : and  crime, 
217  ; and  marriage,  239. 

Education : compulsory,  67,  153 ; 
of  the  blind,  165 ; of  the  deaf,  176 ; 
and  crime,  215. 

Efficiency:  and  child  labor,  71. 

Ely,  Richard  T. : 288. 

Employment : exchanges,  154 ; ir- 
regularity of,  147 ; agencies,  foi^ 
the  blind,  172. 

England : natural  boundary,  4 ; popu- 
lation, 18 ; rate  of  increase  of,  19 ; 
density  of  population,  21 ; contrib- 
uted to  population  of  U.S.,  27 ; 
child  labor  in,  60 ; labor  organiza- 
tions in,  119  ; crime  in,  212. 

Environment:  man  influenced  by, 
1 ff . ; modified  by  man,  14 ; and 
crime,  217. 

Erosion : losses  due  to,  328. 

Eugenic : marriage  laws,  242 ; science 
of  eugenics,  381. 

Experiment  stations : work  of,  349. 

Exploitation : see  conservation. 

Factories : safety  in,  362. 

‘‘Fair  list”:  131. 

Family,  the : 235  ff. ; origin  of,  236 ; 
types  of,  237 ; see  marriage,  di- 
vorce. 

Farmers’  clubs:  350-1. 

Farms : prison,  228. 

Feeble-minded : distinguished  from; 
insane,  185 ; number,  185 ; classi- 
fication, 186 ; in  institutions,  190. 

Feeble-mindedness : 184  ff. ; Binet- 
Simon  test  for,  187 ; causes,  188 ; 
prevention,  189 ; and  poverty, 
193;  and  crime,  193;  and  vice, 
194 ; and  intemperance,  194 ; what 
must  be  done,  195 ; cost  of,  203. 

Felonies : 208 ; see  crime. 

Fertility  of  soil : influence  of,  10. 

First-aid  work : 357. 

Fisher,  Irving : 375,  377,  381,  384. 

Flood  and  frost : warnings  of,  349. 

Folks,  Homer:  269. 

Foot  and  mouth  disease  : 341. 

Foreign-born:  in  United  States, 

27  ff. 

Forests:  influence  of,  11;  depletion 
of,  308;  in  Germany,  309;  legis- 


index 


403 


lation  for  conservation,  309 ; ad- 
ministration of,  310 ; wastes  that 
may  be  eliminated,  311 ; national 
vs.  state  control,  314. 

France : population,  18 ; rate  of  in- 
crease of  p.,  19  ; density  of  p.,  20  ; 
wealth  concentration  in,  303. 

Frontiers : and  natural  boundaries,  3. 

Fruits : new  species,  349. 

Gallaudet:  174;  College,  180. 

Germany : population,  18 ; contrib- 
uted to  population  of  U.S.,  27, 
29  ; illiteracy  in,  32  ; immigration 
from,  38 ; militia,  33 ; forest  con- 
servation, 309,  315 ; crop  yield 
per  acre,  351. 

Goddard,  H.  H. : 185. 

Gompers,  Samuel : 124. 

Good  Templars : 275. 

Gothenburg  system : 274. 

Graded  system:  for  prisoners,  222. 

Grains : new  species,  349. 

Gypsy  moth : losses  due  to,  344. 

Habits : and  crime,  215 ; and  pov- 
erty, 297. 

Hamilton,  Dr.  Alice  ; 366. 

Health : child  labor  and,  68 ; and 
sanitation,  374  ff. ; see  sickness, 
disease. 

Heredity : and  deafness,  176 ; and 
feeble-mindedness,  188 ; and  in- 
sanity, 198 ; and  crime,  214 ; and 
intemperance,  270 ; and  degen- 
eracy, 295. 

Hindus  : in  United  States,  55. 

Hodge,  Professor : 270. 

Hog  cholera:  341. 

Home  : child  labor  and  the,  72. 

Hours  : in  sweat  shops,  102. 

Howard,  John : 220. 

Howe,  Dr.  Samuel  G. : 191. 

Hunter,  Robert:  288-9. 

Idiot : 186 ; training  of,  191. 

Illiteracy : in  United  States,  31 ; 
among  immigrants,  40;  in  Euro- 
pean countries,  32 ; and  child 
labor,  70. 

Imbecile:  187;  training  of,  191. 


Immigration : history  and  extent  of, 
37 ; earlier  vs.  present,  38 ; dis- 
tribution of  immigrants,  40  ; causes 
of,  41 ; effects  of,  44 ; restrictions 
on,  48 ; arguments  for  and  against, 
52 ; oriental,  53. 

Immorality : and  feeble-mindedness, 
194  ; and  insanity,  198. 

Indeterminate  sentence  : 223. 

Indians  : in  United  States,  25. 

Industrial  diseases  : definition,  366  ; 
prevalence,  366 ; action  necessary, 
367. 

Industrial  training:  for  the  blind, 
169 ; for  the  deaf,  179 ; for  the 
feeble-minded,  191. 

Industrial  unions : defined,  116;  see 
labor  organizations. 

Infant  mortality : extent,  371 ; other 
countries,  371 ; causes,  372 ; com- 
bative measures,  372 ; signs  of 
progress,  373. 

Insane : number,  196 ; age  and  sex, 
197 ; treatment  of,  199 ; and  im- 
migration, 46. 

Insanity : distinguished  from  feeble- 
mindedness, 185 ; defined,  196 ; 
extent  of,  196 ; causes,  197 ; pre- 
vention, 201 ; cost  of,  203 ; and 
intemperance,  268. 

Insect  pests : losses  due  to,  342. 

Inspection : of  sweat  shops,  105. 

Insurance  : benefit,  134  ; unemploy- 
ment, 156. 

Intemperance : and  feeble-minded- 
ness, 194 ; and  insanity,  198,  268 ; 
and  poverty,  266,  294 ; and  crime, 
267 ; and  disease  and  death,  269 ; 
and  heredity,  270 ; movements 
against,  257,  272 ; liquor  con- 
sumed, 256 ; see  liquor  traffic. 

Iron  ores : 325. 

Irrigation:  319. 

Ishmaels,  the:  296. 

Isolation  : influence  of,  5. 

Japan : population,  18. 

Japanese : in  United  States,  25 ; im- 
migration, 54. 

Joint  conference : 125. 

Jukes,  the  : 214,  296. 

Juvenile  : offender,  229  ; Court,  229. 


404 


Index 


Kallikaks,  the  : 214,  296. 

Keller,  Helen : 168,  169,  173. 

Keokuk  dam : 316. 

Kindergarten : for  the  blind,  167. 

Knights  of  Labor : 121. 

Labor  organizations : definition,  115; 
classification,  115;  conditions  giv- 
ing rise  to,  117 ; history  of,  119 ; 
methods  and  policies,  124. 

Labor  union:  defined,  115 ; see  labor 
organizations. 

Lands : carelessness  in  granting,  327  ; 
farm,  328 ; erosion,  328 ; loss  of 
essential  elements,  329 ; drainage, 
331. 

Law  enforcement : lack  of,  and 

crime,  217. 

Lead  poisoning : 366,  369. 

Lease  system : 226. 

Lecky:  quoted,  212. 

Length  of  life  : 375. 

Letchworth  Village : 192. 

Libraries:  for  blind,  171. 

License:  273. 

Light : length  of  day  and  night,  10. 

Liquor  trafl&c : 256  ff. ; in  the  col- 
onies, 257 ; movements  against, 
257  ; present  status,  261 ; revenues 
from,  263  ; effects  of,  266  ; control 
of,  272  ; associations  opposing,  275  ; 
substitutes  for  saloon,  276 ; see 
intemperance. 

Literacy : test,  51 ; and  child  labor, 
69. 

Local  option : 273. 

Lockouts : 126  ff. 

Lovejoy,  Owen  R. : 73. 

Macaulay,  Lord:  74. 

Marriage : consanguineous,  and 

blindness,  163 ; consanguineous, 
and  deafness,  176 ; conditions  in 
United  States,  238 ; laws,  240 ; 
proposed  reforms,  241 ; eugenic 
marriage  laws,  242. 

Marshall,  Professor:  295. 

Marsh  lands  : doainage  of,  331. 

Medical  inspection  of  schools : 164. 

Mental  defectives  : 184  ff. ; number, 
185  ; and  poverty,  295  ; see  feeble- 
minded, insane. 


Mental  Hygiene : National  Commit' 
te^  for,  203. 

Metals : 325. 

Militia : potential  in  United  States, 
33 ; in  Germany,  33. 

Minerals:  influence  of,  on  man’s 

development,  11 ; conservation  of, 
321 ; coal,  321 ; peat,  324 ; petro- 
leum, 324 ; natural  gas,  325 ; 
metals,  325. 

Mines : accidents  in,  360 ; safety 

measures,  361. 

Minimum  wage : 91  ff. 

Misdemeanors : 209  ; see  crime. 

Mitchell,  John : 134. 

Moisture : influence  of,  9 ; rainfall  in 
United  States,  22. 

Mongolian  type  of  defectiyes : 189. 

Morals : child  labor  and,  72. 

Moron:  187;  training,  191. 

Motive  forces : 12. 

National  Child  ^Labor  Committee: 
74,  75,  77,  78. 

Nativity : of  population  of  United 
States,  27. 

Natural  gas  : 325. 

Natural  resources:  11  ff. ; minerals, 
11 ; forest  and  plant  life,  11 ; ani- 
mal, 12 ; motive  forces,  12 ; see 
conservation. 

Nature : general  aspects  of,  13 ; and 
man,  1,  14. 

Navigable  rivers : 317. 

Nearing,  Scott:  85,  86. 

Negroes : in  United  States,  25 ; il- 
literacy of,  31. 

New  York  Point  system : 168. 

Niagara:  horse-power,  13. 

Occupations:  and  crime,  216. 

Open  shop:  131. 

Ophthalmia  neonatorum : 163. 

Oral  method : 177  ; see  deaf. 

Osier,  Dr. : 270. 

Overlock,  M.  G. : 369. 

Owen,  Robert:  61. 

Owen,  Robert  L. : 380 ; Keating- 
Owen  Bill,  77. 

Pacemaker:  133. 

Parole : 222. 


Index 


4°S 


Pauperism  : 287  ; vs.  poverty,  287  ; 
and  immigration,  46. 

Peat : 324. 

Petroleum:  324. 

Phelps,  Dr.  E.  B. : 269. 

Phosphates : conservation  of,  330. 

Phossy-jaw:  368. 

Picketing:  128. 

Piece-price  system : 227. 

Pinchot,  Gifford : 310. 

Plant  diseases : losses  due  to,  344. 

Playground  and  Recreation  Associa- 
tion of  America : 79. 

Population : of  United  States,  18  ff. ; 
present  status,  18 ; rate  of  in- 
crease, 19  ; density,  20 ; urban  and 
niral,  21 ; distribution  by  natural 
features,  22  ; center  of,  23  ; race,  25  ; 
nativity,  27  ; sex,  29  ; school  age, 
31 ; illiteracy,  31 ; voting  strength, 
33  ; potential  militia,  33  ; estimates 
of,  33  ; of  other  countries,  18.’ 

Porto  Rico  : population,  19  ; density 
of  population,  20. 

Poverty : 285  ff . ; as  a cause  of  child 
labor,  65 ; feeble-mindedness  a 
cause  of,  193 ; and  intemperance, 
266 ; changing  attitude  toward, 
285  ; extent  of,  289  ; vs.  pauperism, 
287  ; causes  of,  290  ; remedies,  301 ; 
vs.  wealth  concentration,  302. 

Prairie  dogs : losses  due  to,  345. 

Prison  labor : 225  ff. 

Probation : 224  ; officer,  230. 

Prohibition : 258,  272  ; party,  275  ; 
some  ecomonic  phases  of,  264 ; 
see  liquor  traffic. 

Public  account  system  : 227. 

Public  works  system : 227. 

Pure  food  legislation : 382. 

Races : in  United  States,  25. 

Railroad : organizations  for  safety, 
358 ; accidents,  358. 

Rainfall:  and  density  of  population, 
9 ; in  United  States,  22. 

Reclamation  Service : 319. 

Red  Cross  : work  of,  357. 

Restrictions  on  output : 132. 

Richards,  Ralph  E. ; 358. 

Rivers : and  lakes  as  natural  high- 
ways, 5 ; as  boundaries,  6. 


Road  making  : by  convicts,  228. 

Ross,  E.  A. : 213^4. 

Rural  population  vs.  urban:  21. 

Safety : general  significance  of,  356 ; 
first-aid  work,  357 ; railroad  or- 
ganizations for,  358 ; in  mines, 
360 ; in  factories,  362 ; work  of 
corporations  toward,  362 ; state 
control,  363. 

“Safety  first”:  and  unemployment, 
152,  357. 

Saloon : substitutes  for,  276 ; see 
liquor  traffic. 

Scandinavian  countries : contributed 
to  population  of  United  States,  27, 
29  ; illiteracy  in,  32  ; immigration 
from,  38. 

School  age : numbers  of,  in  United 
States,  31. 

School  attendance : 31 ; of  the  blind, 
166. 

Schools:  for  the  blind,  161,  166  ff. ; 
for  the  deaf,  174,  177  ff. ; for  the 
feeble-minded,  190  ff. 

Sea : accessibility  by,  6 ; and  in- 
dustries, 7. 

Seal : fur,  of  Pribilof  Islands,  347. 

Seasonal  fluctuations  in  industries : 
147. 

Seguin,  Edouard : 190. 

Sex : in  United  States,  29 ; among 
immigrants,  40. 

Shaftesbury,  Seventh  Earl  of  : 62. 

Sheep : losses  due  to  diseases,  340. 

Sickness : a cause  of  unemployment, 
145  ; and  poverty,  292  ; see  disease. 

Sleyster,  Dr.  Rock : 215. 

Smallpox : 375. 

Soil : fertility  of,  influence,  10  ; ero- 
sion, 328. 

South  Carolina : dispensary  system, 
274. 

“Speeding  Up  ” : 104. 

State-use  system : 227. 

Steel  corporations  : and  safety,  362. 

Steiner,  Edward : 356. 

Strikes ; 126  ff. 

Sweating  system ; 96  ff. ; described, 
97 ; causes,  101 ; evils,  102  ; pres- 
ent. status,  107 ; attempts  at  con- 
trol, 107 ; remedies  proposed,  108. 


4o6 


Index 


Sweat  shop:  workers,  98;  kinds  of, 
99. 

Taft,  Ex-President : 374. 

Tay lor,. Graham  : 235-6,  253,  257. 

Temperance : movements  for,  257, 
272,  275 ; see  liquor  traffic,  in- 
temperance. 

Temperature : influence  of,  8 ; mean 
annual,  24. 

Texas  fever : losses  due  to,  338. 

Trade  agreements : 125. 

Trade  routes:  7. 

Trade  union:  defined,  116;  benefit 
features,  134 ; see  labor  organi- 
zations. 

Tuberculosis  : 378  ; bovine,  338. 

Typhoid  fever : 377. 

Unemployable,  the : 150. 

Unemployed : Army  .of,  151 ; see  un- 
employment. 

Unemployment : 140  ff. ; costs,  140  ; 
extent,  143 ; causes,  145 ; reme- 
dies suggested,  150 ; insurance, 
156. 

“ Unfair  list  ” : 129. 

Union  label:  111,  131. 

Urban : population  compared  with 
rural,  21. 

Vaccination  : 339,  376,  377,  378. 

Vagrants : 150. 

Van  Hise : see  references  Chs.  XV, 
XVI,  and  XVII. 

Vice  : and  feeble-mindedness,  194  ; 
and  insanity,  198 ; defined,  208. 

Volta  Bureau : 180. 


Voters:  in  United  States,  33. 

Wage-earners:  rise  of  class,  117  ff.; 
women,  84  ; children,  64. 

Wages : and  child  labor,  70 ; 

women’s,  85 ; and  sweating  sys- 
tem, 102  ; low,  and  poverty,  297. 

War,  cost  of  : 299. 

Washington,  Booker  T. : 280. 

Wastes  of  wealth : 295. 

Water:  conservation  of,  315  ; supply, 
315  ; power,  316  ; navigation,  317  ; 
irrigation,  319. 

Wealth  concentration:  302. 

Webb-Kenyon  Law : 280. 

“Wet”  and  “Dry”  map  of  United 
States,  259. 

White  Cross : 357. 

White,  William  Allen  : 273. 

Wild  game : decreasing  amount  of, 
346. 

Wiley,  Dr.  Harvey  W. : 383. 

Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission : 
364. 

Women : in  industry,  82  ff. ; number 
employed,  84 ; occupations  open 
to,  84 ; wages  of,  85 ; reasons  for 
low  wages,  87 ; competition  with 
men,  89 ; legislation  in  behalf  of, 
90. 

W^omen’s  Christian  Temperance 
Union:  258,  275. 

Wood  alcohol : and  blindness,  165. 

Workshops  : for  the  blind,  172. 

Wright,  Carroll  D. : 145,  268,  271, 
277. 

Yellow  fever : 377. 


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